Africa is rapidly emerging as a pivotal supplier of critical minerals essential to the global green energy transition, with countries across the continent holding vast, yet underutilized, reserves of metals such as lithium, cobalt, manganese, rare earth elements, and platinum group metals.
Countries like South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, and Guinea are already at the forefront of this movement, attracting global interest due to their abundance of resources required for electric vehicle batteries, solar and wind infrastructure, and hydrogen fuel systems. According to industry experts, Africa may contain up to 30% of the world’s critical minerals—though the full extent remains unknown due to limited exploration.
Veronica Bolton Smith, CEO of Critical Minerals Africa Group, emphasized that these resources could increase Africa’s GDP by at least 12% by mid-century, provided there is a shift from mere extraction to domestic value addition through processing and manufacturing. “The global energy transition is already creating massive demand for lithium, cobalt, and other minerals,” she said, noting that Africa is uniquely positioned to benefit—if investment comes with equitable terms.
Countries such as Zimbabwe have already taken bold steps. In 2022, the government banned the export of raw lithium, requiring foreign companies to build processing plants locally. Similar policies are being explored across the continent to prevent a repeat of historical patterns where Africa exported raw materials but imported finished products.
Guinea leads the world in bauxite production, while Angola, Malawi, Tanzania, and South Africa are developing rare earth mining operations expected to raise Africa’s global share to 10% by 2030. Meanwhile, graphite-rich nations like Madagascar and Mozambique are increasingly central to battery supply chains.
However, experts warn that without proper regulation and fair investment models, Africa risks becoming a new frontier for “green neo-colonialism.” African leaders and institutions are calling for partnerships that prioritize local job creation, industrial growth, and renewable energy development—rather than just raw extraction.
If successful, these value-driven models could help Africa capture a share of the global battery production market, potentially creating up to 1 million jobs and transforming the continent from a raw material supplier into a global industrial leader in the green economy.