Africa holds approximately 30% of the world’s reserves of critical energy-transition minerals, with demand for these resources projected to more than triple by 2030 under net-zero scenarios.
By Willy Chowoo
Durban, South Africa
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has called on Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states to accelerate efforts to transform the region’s vast mineral and agricultural wealth into industrial production, regional value chains and sustainable economic prosperity.
Addressing Heads of State and Government at the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit in Durban , ECA on Monday 17, August , 20026 , Executive Secretary Claver Gatete highlighted Africa’s continued position as a major exporter of raw materials while other regions capture greater value through processing and manufacturing.
“Africa exports minerals; others manufacture batteries, electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies. Africa exports agricultural commodities; others process, package and market higher-value food products,” Gatete said.
He highlighted Southern Africa’s vast natural resource endowment, including deposits of platinum, lithium, diamonds, manganese, cobalt and copper, alongside fertile agricultural land, manufacturing capacity, financial markets and transport corridors linking the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.
Africa holds approximately 30% of the world’s reserves of critical energy-transition minerals, with demand for these resources projected to more than triple by 2030 under net-zero scenarios.
Despite this resource wealth, minerals account for only about 7% of direct employment in the SADC region, a gap Gatete said demonstrates the enormous potential for industrialisation and job creation.
ECA research illustrates the economic opportunities available. Establishing a 10,000-tonne battery precursor plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), for example, would cost about $39 million—roughly three times less than an equivalent facility in the United States—while also offering potential emissions reductions compared with supply chains currently routed through China.
Gatete outlined six priorities that SADC countries should pursue to accelerate industrialisation:
- Mobilise financing and partnerships at scale. Governments cannot finance the transformation alone. Development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and the private sector should support bankable regional projects in energy, transport, industrial parks and agro-industrial development.
- Accelerate mineral beneficiation and regional critical-mineral value chains. The region should move beyond mineral extraction towards integrated industries covering refining, precursor materials, component manufacturing and finished products.
- Transform agriculture into an engine of industrialisation. Investment in seed systems, mechanisation, irrigation, storage, food processing, cold chains and export infrastructure can reduce food-import dependence, create jobs and strengthen climate resilience.
- Make fertiliser and agricultural-input security a regional priority. Southern Africa has natural gas resources, phosphate reserves and sizeable markets that could support regional fertiliser value chains, reduce costs for farmers and strengthen industrial capacity.
- Strengthen regional value chains through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The agreement provides a framework for combining the region’s mineral, energy and manufacturing advantages by reducing trade barriers and facilitating cross-border investment.
- Accelerate investment in energy and enabling infrastructure. Industrialisation requires reliable, affordable and sustainable energy, efficient transport networks and modern digital connectivity.
ECA and the African Development Bank are also working on African critical-mineral value chains and strategic corridors aimed at strengthening regional industrial production.
These include the Battery and Electric Vehicle Value Chain, covering the DRC, Zambia, Tanzania and South Africa; the Lithium Industrialisation Corridor, involving Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa; the Graphite Processing Corridor, linking Mozambique, Madagascar and Tanzania; and the Iron Ore, Manganese and Green Industrial Materials Corridor, covering Guinea, Mauritania, Liberia, South Africa, Gabon, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
“Southern Africa has the minerals, agriculture, energy, finance, ports, skills and markets to build competitive regional production networks. The pathway is clear: implementation at scale, coordinated regional action and sustained investment,” Gatete said.
The ECA reaffirmed its commitment to working with SADC, the African Development Bank and other partners to support the region in turning its natural-resource wealth into value-added production, jobs and long-term economic development.
