The World Economic Forum (WEF), in collaboration with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and McKinsey & Company, has released a report underlining the urgent necessity to boost investment in Southern Africa’s critical minerals.
These minerals are essential for clean energy and low-carbon technologies.
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The report, part of the Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition initiative, focuses on ten countries and addresses the financing gaps hindering the region’s potential as a key player in the global energy transition.
Sub-Saharan Africa holds around 30% of the world’s known reserves of critical minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium, and platinum-group metals. However, Africa draws less than 10% of global exploration spending.
The report, drawing on expert consultations, identifies eight primary financing obstacles, including policy uncertainty and investment risks, which are impeding the region’s development.
Other obstacles include access to energy, transportation barriers, innovation lag, industrialisation pace, skill gaps and demand volatility.
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By GlobalDataWEF Transforming Industrial Ecosystems head Jörgen Sandström said: “Southern Africa has the mineral reserves the global energy transition urgently needs, but finance flows are not keeping pace.
“Our new research not only reveals the scale of the gap but also practical, proven ways to close it. Sustainably unlocking this potential will be critical to both regional prosperity and global energy security.”
The report presents case studies demonstrating successful strategies to overcome these barriers.
For instance, the Lobito Corridor project aims to improve export access for the mineral-rich regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia by connecting them to Angola’s Port of Lobito. This initiative is supported by multiple stakeholders, including the European Union and the US.
Another case study is Namibia’s green iron production facility, which commenced operations in April 2025.
This plant, the first of its kind in Africa, is powered by renewable energy and aims to scale its production by 2030. The EU-Namibia Green Hydrogen Partnership backs this initiative.
Furthermore, Zambia’s mining policy reform is set to enhance copper production, with a goal to triple its output to three million tonnes by 2031.
DBSA CEO Boitumelo Mosako said: “As we confront the major transitions of our time – from climate change to cyclical economic headwinds – Africa must be an active participant in shaping its own development path.
“If extraction continues in the same manner as historical practice, the continent will once again miss the opportunity to convert its mineral wealth into structural socio-economic transformation for all.”
