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# [MADAGASCAR] Africa Forward in Nairobi: Antananarivo advocates for a green, local and sovereign economy
- URL: https://businessoi.media/en/madagascar-africa-forward-a-nairobi-antananarivo-plaide-pour-une-economie-verte-locale-et-souveraine-en/
- Published: 2026-07-27T02:47:34.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-27T02:47:34.000Z
- Description: Despite its AU suspension, Madagascar participated in Africa Forward in Nairobi in May 2026, advocating for a green economy, local resource transformation and sovereign value chains.
- Author: Emmanuel TAOCHY
- Tags: Madagascar, Économie, Revue matinale, #en

Despite its suspension from the African Union since October 2025, Madagascar participated in the Africa Forward Summit held in Nairobi in May 2026\. The Malagasy delegation, led by Colonel Michaël Randrianirina, advocated for an economic vision centred on local transformation, endogenous value chains and the green economy — a bold diplomatic positioning on the African stage.

## A 4,000-participant summit, co-organised by France and Kenya

Africa Forward 2026 brought together more than **4,000 participants** in Nairobi, including around 2,000 private sector representatives and some thirty African heads of state. Co-organised by France and Kenya around the theme «Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth», the summit focused on energy transition, green industrialisation, the blue economy, digital connectivity, artificial intelligence and sustainable agriculture.

Madagascar's participation, despite its AU suspension, was read as «a strong diplomatic signal» aimed at reasserting the island's place in African strategic discussions, according to several analysts following Malagasy affairs.

## The Malagasy vision: transform locally, don't export raw

The Antananarivo delegation put forward three clear priorities in the roundtables it attended:

**First, local value chains** rather than raw material exports. Madagascar is rich in resources — nickel, cobalt, graphite, vanilla, cacao — but considers it loses a critical share of value by exporting them unprocessed.

**Second, on-site industrial transformation**, creating jobs and transferring skills to local populations. This position echoes regional debates on the «resource curse» and the development model several African countries are trying to move beyond.

**Third, a «green and connected» economy** that integrates climate considerations into investment attractiveness strategy. Madagascar, highly exposed to cyclones and climate hazards, sees the green transition as a condition of its medium-term economic resilience.

## A tense domestic context

Madagascar's participation in Africa Forward comes in a difficult domestic context. The AU suspension follows internal political frictions. Malagasy growth has been revised to 3.6% for 2026, held back by global geopolitical tensions and persistent structural challenges — weak infrastructure, low tax pressure, dominant informal sector.

## Why this matters

Madagascar's positioning at Africa Forward outlines the pitch the island wants to make to foreign investors: no longer a simple resource extractor, but an industrial partner. For Indian Ocean businesses looking towards Madagascar — in tourism, agri-food, light industry — this vision of local transformation is a signal to factor into their market entry strategies.