Africa holds roughly 30% of the world’s critical mineral reserves, including 71% of global cobalt and 42% of manganese. To achieve green industrialisation, the continent must shift from exporting raw ores to local processing, battery manufacturing, and regional value-chain integration.
Mineral Wealth and Current Realities
Africa dominates global supplies of cobalt, lithium, graphite, manganese, copper, and nickel. Yet the continent has historically remained at the extraction end of the value chain, with raw materials mined in Africa and processed elsewhere. As a result, African economies capture only a small share of the value generated by clean-energy technologies.
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This presents both a challenge and an opportunity. African production costs, including lithium production in Zimbabwe and hydro-powered precursor processing in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), remain competitive globally. With the right investments and policies, this cost advantage could help the continent move beyond simply supplying raw materials to becoming a major player in the battery and clean-energy industries.
The shift is already beginning. Countries such as Morocco and Zimbabwe are exploring or developing domestic chemical refining and processing facilities, reducing the need to export raw mineral concentrates. Such investments could help create jobs, develop technical expertise and keep a greater share of mineral revenues within African economies.
Regional integration will also be critical. Coordinating cross-border policies, establishing common standards and strengthening negotiating positions through institutions such as the African Development Bank could help countries build value chains that extend beyond individual national markets.
Rather than each country attempting to develop every stage of battery production independently, African economies can specialise according to their resources, infrastructure and capabilities, creating regional production networks that are more competitive and better positioned to attract investment.
Energy, Minerals and Infrastructure Remain Major Draws
African Least Developed Countries were an important part of the continent’s investment picture. They received about $33 billion in FDI, but inflows remained concentrated in a small number of economies linked to natural resources, energy, infrastructure and selected manufacturing projects.
Much of that interest is focused on sectors that are becoming more important in the global economy.
This reflects three overlapping drivers: demand for energy infrastructure, interest in critical minerals needed for batteries and advanced manufacturing, and the search for new industrial and logistics locations as supply chains are reconfigured.
Parts of Africa are well positioned to benefit from these trends. The continent holds major reserves of minerals essential for renewable energy technologies, battery manufacturing and advanced industrial production. Copper, cobalt, lithium, manganese, graphite and rare earth minerals are becoming increasingly important to global investors seeking to secure future supply chains.
Countries such as Egypt, Morocco and South Africa continue to attract investment linked to industrial development, hydrogen production, logistics and renewable energy. Namibia and other resource-rich economies are also drawing attention as demand rises for minerals needed in batteries, renewable energy systems and advanced manufacturing.
These trends position parts of Africa within some of the fastest-growing segments of global investment.
However, the benefits remain uneven. Investment continues to be concentrated in a relatively small number of countries and sectors, leaving many economies with limited participation in the activities attracting the most capital.
The Opportunity Is Growing. So Is the Competition.
For many African economies, attracting investment into energy or resource projects is only the starting point.
The bigger prize lies in capturing more of the value created around those investments through processing, manufacturing, services and stronger regional supply chains. Achieving this will require infrastructure, skills, industrial capabilities and policies that help connect investment projects to the wider economy.
Policy priorities include better project preparation, risk-sharing mechanisms, reliable power and transport infrastructure, supplier development, local processing where commercially viable, and regional corridors that connect smaller markets to larger production systems. Without these links, investment in minerals or energy can raise headline inflows without creating enough domestic value.
Clustered industrial zones could provide part of the answer by allowing mining and processing operations to share infrastructure, transport networks and other services. At the same time, targeted manufacturing could align battery-cell production with growing regional markets for two- and three-wheel electric vehicles and stationary energy storage.
The development of battery value chains could also create opportunities beyond mining. Processing minerals locally would require chemical engineers, technicians, logistics providers, equipment suppliers and other specialised services. Battery manufacturing would create another layer of industrial activity, while recycling could eventually provide an additional source of critical minerals and reduce dependence on newly mined materials.
This broader ecosystem is important because the value of the energy transition does not lie only in the minerals themselves. It also lies in the industries, skills, technologies and businesses that develop around them. If African countries can build these capabilities alongside mining and processing, critical minerals could become a foundation for wider industrial development rather than another cycle of commodity dependence.
Infrastructure will remain central to this ambition. Reliable electricity, efficient ports, rail networks and roads are essential for moving minerals and manufactured products at competitive costs. Green energy could also strengthen the case for local processing, particularly in countries with strong solar, hydro or other renewable-energy potential. Access to affordable and reliable power would make energy-intensive processing more viable while supporting the continent’s wider climate objectives.
There is also a growing regional market to consider. Africa’s expanding population, urbanisation and demand for transport and electricity storage could provide a significant market for locally produced batteries and related technologies. Electric motorcycles, three-wheelers, buses and stationary storage systems are particularly relevant in markets where transport costs and unreliable electricity remain major challenges.
This means the success of Africa’s next development chapter will depend not only on how much investment arrives, but also on how effectively countries can transform that investment into jobs, technology transfer, industrial upgrading and economic diversification.
Africa’s mineral wealth gives the continent a strong starting point. The real opportunity lies in ensuring that the resources extracted from African soil are increasingly processed, manufactured and transformed within Africa. If countries can combine their mineral resources with reliable infrastructure, skilled workers, regional markets and supportive policies, the continent can capture a greater share of the economic value generated by the global energy transition.
The battery opportunity is therefore bigger than batteries themselves. It is an opportunity to build industries around Africa’s resources, strengthen regional trade and create a more diversified industrial base. The challenge is to act before the global battery economy becomes fully established elsewhere. Africa has the minerals; the next step is turning that advantage into manufacturing capacity, regional value chains and lasting economic growth.
