Across Africa, pastoralists and livestock keepers sustain herding systems which are closely bound up with our landscapes and crucial to nationwide food security, economic growth, and ecological balance. In my country, Senegal, almost 70 percent of our land is used to graze livestock.

And yet, I hear it often argued that – if we want a sustainable future – we must choose between hooves and habitats because livestock is an “environmental liability”.

But this point of view is misunderstood. Across Africa, innovative approaches and technologies are being piloted to allow livestock and a healthy environment to coexist. What we need now is more investment and collaboration to scale these breakthroughs.

Despite being home to more than 85 percent of the world’s pastoralists and livestock keepers, sub-Saharan Africa produces just 2.8 percent of global meat and milk. As a result, one in five Africans do not have adequate access to nutritious foods, including animal source foods. Fixing this can be simple: a single egg, a cup of milk, or a small piece of meat can make all the difference to combatting malnutrition.

Meanwhile, populations are growing and urbanising faster here than anywhere else in the world. Demand for meat and dairy products is forecast to rise 300 percent by 2050.

Thankfully, evidence is already out there which proves that we don’t need to sacrifice a healthy environment to meet this rising demand.

Pastoralists in Senegal, for example, move their animals strategically to mimic natural grazing patterns, considering rainfall to prevent overgrazing. This not only improves biodiversity and soil quality, but also reduces dry vegetation and the growing threat of wildfires. To support, the Senegalese government has been providing our pastoralists with detailed weather data and forecasts to help them optimise grazing and manage their livestock more efficiently.

Working with communities in this way has been shown to reduce conflicts for land and water resources and restore landscapes.

Elsewhere in Africa, animal health interventions are demonstrating how better, not necessarily fewer, livestock is the answer to sustainability in the sector. East Coast fever vaccination programmes have reduced calf mortality up to 95 percent in some countries. More than 400,000 cattle have been saved in the past 25 years, reducing emissions up to 40 percent.

Moreover, new thermotolerant vaccines for the highly contagious viral disease peste des petits ruminants (PPR) – as demonstrated already in Mali – offer a promising way to curb the $147 million in annual losses of sheep and goat keepers across Africa. Boosting productivity among these climate-resilient animals will be essential for nourishing Africa’s rapidly growing population as climate change intensifies.

However, despite these successes, an important challenge remains. I have seen firsthand that many pastoralists, smallholders and subsistence farmers lack the knowledge and resources needed to access and implement these innovations. These groups account for the majority of Africa’s livestock keepers and must be reached for these innovations to realise their benefits at scale.

Two things are needed to bridge this gap. First, greater collaboration between policymakers, researchers, farmers and businesses can help us to better understand the challenges that livestock farmers face and help them to produce more, without compromising our environment.

For example, collaborative initiatives like the Livestock and Climate Solutions Hub launched by the International Livestock Research Institute are a way of showcasing practical ways for farmers to reduce their herds’ impact on the environment.

The second element is investment. For decades, despite the clear potential of high returns on investment, the livestock sector has suffered from a vast investment gap, receiving as little as 0.25 percent of overall overseas development assistance as of 2017. It must be made financially viable for livestock keepers to invest in technologies and approaches that raise productivity sustainably, or else this mission will not even get off the ground.

The upcoming World Bank Spring Meetings – where funding for development initiatives will be determined – presents a timely opportunity to kickstart this paradigm shift so that livestock is recognised within green financing frameworks.

African countries, in turn, must do their part by incorporating livestock into their national economic development plans and their climate action plans. This will help encourage funding streams from global investors and climate financing mechanisms, ultimately catalysing a multiplier effect of billions in livestock sustainability investment.

The solutions are within reach. What is needed now is the will to act decisively and unlock the continent’s unparalleled natural resource potential to build a future where prosperity and sustainability go hand in hand.

Daouda Ngom is Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition for Senegal

The future of African trade is digital, and it’s unfolding. From Dakar to Durban, a quiet but steady transformation is taking shape. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), global trade hit a record $33 trillion in 2024, with developing economies, including Africa, playing a growing role in that expansion.

The African Free Continental Trade Area offers the largest free market, including 55 countries, a population of 1.3 billion and a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion. The opportunities are vast, yet the strategies required for industrial players to source, move and manage raw materials and finished goods remain a challenge.

“The continent’s digital economy is projected to reach $180 billion by 2025, up from $115 billion in 2020, thus contributing significantly to Africa’s GDP, creating new job opportunities, and expanding regional trade. Digital trade is transforming the continent’s economic landscape, creating new opportunities for real economic growth, productive job creation, and poverty reduction.” H.E. Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Minister, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment

“Building on this rapid expansion, our focus must shift from isolated digital initiatives to a fully integrated ecosystem that streamlines every step of trade—sourcing, supplying, logistics and payments. By integrating these functionalities on a single platform, Matta enables manufacturers to navigate sourcing headaches and suppliers to manage cross-border complexities with confidence and unlocks new markets in Africa in real time. This holistic approach is what will transform digital trade’s potential into tangible, inclusive economic growth across Africa.” Mudiaga Mowoe, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Matta.

Launched to enable sustainable African economies, Matta’s integrated ecosystem—today powered by the Matta digital marketplace (www.Matta.Trade) and the Flux logistics management tool, with Oxide Finance (Matta’s upcoming trade-financing and cross-border payments platform) arriving soon—empowers manufacturers and suppliers across food & beverage, home & personal care, paints & coatings, agro-processing, automotive assembly, textiles, construction, and beyond with truly end-to-end sourcing, movement, and settlement. Rather than supplanting traditional trade networks, this unified platform amplifies human partnerships through real-time visibility, traceability, and seamless transactions.

This evolution in digital trade and industrial growth is one of the key conversations that will take centre stage at the West Africa Industrialisation, Manufacturing & Trade (West Africa IMT) Summit and Exhibition, set to take place from October 21-23, 2025. West Africa IMT is a high-level platform for government leaders, investors, manufacturers, and technology innovators to align practical solutions and policy frameworks for accelerating Africa’s industrial transformation.

Matta, Africa’s integrated ecosystem for industrial trade, will join other industry stakeholders across the continent at West Africa IMT 2025 to discuss the potential opportunities for industrial growth in the West African sub-region. As manufacturers increasingly seek more innovative, more efficient ways to power production beyond physical infrastructure and policy support, there’s an urgent need for systems that simplify sourcing, enhance transparency, and ensure supply chain reliability. Matta addresses these challenges by connecting African manufacturers directly to verified suppliers of raw materials and commodities, ensuring business continuity in an environment where procurement bottlenecks often slow production timelines.

Digital platforms address multiple challenges simultaneously: procurement complexities, logistics coordination, payment processing, and data-based planning. By integrating these capabilities into industrial operations, West African economies can accelerate development timelines and establish competitive manufacturing centres that participate effectively in global markets.

As African nations chart independent economic paths, digital trade platforms like Matta will significantly influence how quickly and effectively new industrial capabilities develop. The transformation in African trade is already underway, with effects that will continue to reshape economic relationships for years to come.