Africa's oceans hold an estimated $1 trillion in untapped potential. Yet for most of the continent, that wealth remains just out of reach. Vice-President Sebastian Pillay has called on African nations to change that — urgently.
Speaking at the Africa Forward Summit 2026, held in Kenya this week, Vice-President Pillay addressed the Roundtable on the Blue Economy, delivering one of the session's most pointed interventions. He challenged African leaders to move beyond the export of raw materials and build the governance structures, industries, and financing systems needed to make the Blue Economy a continental reality.
Amongst the most immediate obstacles he identified were the scourge of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, a threat that drains resources before they can ever be developed.
Vice-President Pillay noted that Seychelles has not stood still. With 30 per cent of its marine territory now under protection, the island nation offers a replicable model for the continent. From that platform, he set out three priorities he deemed non-negotiable:
On financing, Vice-President Pillay was equally direct. He called for dedicated blue finance mechanisms and the reallocation of Special Drawing Rights, making clear that ambition without funding is simply rhetoric.
"The Blue Economy must be economically viable and environmentally responsible", he said — a statement that captured both the opportunity and the obligation before African governments.
The session carried significant international weight, with Mrs Catherine Chabaud, France's Minister of the Sea and Fisheries, among those in attendance. The panel's closing consensus was unambiguous: Vice-President Pillay's call to action aligns squarely with the summit's mission of sustainable growth and strategic partnership — and Africa's ocean moment cannot afford to wait.