The World Economic Forum (WEF) has urged Southern Africa to unlock investment in its vast reserves of critical minerals, warning that without immediate action the region risks missing its chance to play a leading role in the global energy transition.
A new report released on August 29 under the WEF’s Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition (SMET) initiative highlights the financing barriers facing the region and outlines case studies showing how projects can drive inclusive economic growth. The study was produced in collaboration with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and McKinsey & Company.
Covering ten countries – Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe – the report argues that Southern Africa is central to global clean energy supply chains.
Vast reserves, limited capital flows
According to the WEF, sub-Saharan Africa holds nearly 30 percent of the world’s known reserves of copper, cobalt, lithium, graphite, manganese, chromium, vanadium and platinum group metals – all essential to low-carbon technologies. Yet the continent attracts less than 10 percent of global exploration spending.
‘Southern Africa has the mineral reserves the global energy transition urgently needs, but finance flows are not keeping pace,’ said Jörgen Sandström of the WEF Centre for Energy and Materials.
DBSA CEO Boitumelo Mosako warned that without reform the continent risks repeating past mistakes. ‘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 socioeconomic transformation for all,’ she said.
Barriers and solutions
The report identifies eight financing obstacles holding back investment: policy uncertainty, high risk perceptions, poor energy access, transport constraints, lack of innovation, slow industrialisation, skills gaps and volatile demand.
To address these, the WEF points to scalable initiatives, including the Lobito Corridor, which aims to connect the mineral-rich regions of Zambia and the DRC to Angola’s Port of Lobito. Backed by the EU, US, Angola and the DBSA, the project involves modernising rail infrastructure and extending new lines to reduce export bottlenecks.
Another example is Namibia’s green iron plant, launched in April as Africa’s first industrial-scale, renewable-powered iron production facility. Supported by the EU-Namibia Green Hydrogen Partnership, the facility aims to scale output from 15,000 tonnes a year to two million tonnes by 2030.
Zambia’s mining reforms also feature in the report. With copper production targeted to rise from 700,000 tonnes today to three million tonnes by 2031, new legislation is boosting investor confidence and increasing local participation.
Leaders call for partnerships
Speaking at the launch, South Africa’s Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramakgopa said the country’s Integrated Resource Plan would be central to its energy transition. He highlighted nuclear energy as part of future plans, while also stressing the importance of funding for critical mineral extraction.
Mosako reiterated that Africa’s approach must prioritise local beneficiation, poverty alleviation and industrial growth rather than exporting raw materials.
AUDA-NEPAD CEO Nardos Bekele-Thomas echoed the call for reform, arguing that investment risk stems from policy and regulatory gaps that governments can fix. ‘We must use project finance as a tool to build our industrial base,’ she said. ‘The true wealth of critical minerals lies in the multipliers – the transport corridors, the power grids, the supply chains and the knowledge economies they unlock.’
Southern Africa at a crossroads
While Southern Africa’s resource potential is undisputed, the WEF report stresses that partnerships between governments, development banks and the private sector are essential to unlock value. Without investment in local processing, infrastructure and skills, leaders warned, the region risks once again watching its mineral wealth flow overseas without delivering sustainable prosperity at home.
