ODIA's flagship programmes move into their pilot phase in 2026. The sections below set out what each impact area means for our work and the activities already underway — we'll add measured results as these pilots complete.
We work directly with the people our industrialisation agenda is built for: African SMEs and startups, women entrepreneurs, and the young people and students who will lead the continent's next generation of businesses. In 2026, that means training programmes on digital tools, trade and industrial skills, and mobilising SMEs to take part in pan-African forums and fairs — the first step toward the local networks and processing frameworks that let communities keep more of the value they create.
Africa's raw materials leave the continent mostly unprocessed. ODIA's core bet is that local processing — not just extraction — is what turns resources into jobs and income. We're running industrial feasibility studies in three priority sectors this year (agri-food, textiles, energy) and piloting the interactive digital platform that will connect African SMEs directly to continental markets and investors.
Sustainability, to us, means industrial growth that leaves something behind for the next generation rather than exporting Africa's raw wealth — and its future benefits — along with it. Our research and development work is aimed at technical solutions suited to local conditions, and every industrial zone and processing framework we help build is designed for long-term operation, not a single extraction cycle.
African SMEs lose sales to gaps in standards, packaging, logistics and market access — not to a lack of ambition. Our training curriculum tackles this directly: pricing and sales strategy, quality and standards, packaging for competitive markets, and logistics for reliable delivery. Pairing that training with organised industrial zones gives SMEs the shared infrastructure they need to compete at continental scale.
ODIA's mandate names women entrepreneurs and young people specifically, alongside the SMEs, consumers, and institutions that make up Africa's economic base. Solidarity — cooperation between businesses, communities and institutions — is one of our founding values, and our fairs, training programmes and local networks are built to bring in operators who are usually left out of continental trade conversations, not just the largest players.
Real pan-African impact means presence in every country on the continent, not just a headquarters with an ambitious name. We're building toward that with pilot R&D centres planned for Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Kenya, at least two major fairs this year — one anglophone, one francophone — and active engagement with the African Union, ECOWAS, SADC, AfCFTA and partners including UNIDO and the World Bank to give our work the institutional backing it needs to scale.
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