A new report launched by the World Economic Forum (WEF) highlights the urgent need to unlock investment in Southern Africa’s critical minerals to meet surging global demand for clean energy and low-carbon technologies.

The report, launched on August 29, identifies key financing gaps facing the region and showcases concrete case studies that can inform efforts to accelerate investment, drive inclusive local growth and position Southern Africa as a cornerstone of the global energy transition.

Produced in collaboration with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), with McKinsey & Company as knowledge partner, and under the WEF’s Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition (SMET) initiative, the report focuses on ten countries.

These include Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The WEF explains that sub-Saharan Africa, as a whole, holds nearly 30% of known global reserves of the critical minerals, including copper, cobalt, lithium, graphite, manganese, chromium, vanadium and platinum group metals, which are essential to the manufacture of low-carbon technologies.

Despite this potential, the report highlights that Africa currently attracts less than 10% of global exploration spending, revealing a stark gap between potential and capital flows.

“Southern Africa has the mineral reserves the global energy transition urgently needs, but finance flows are not keeping pace,” says Jörgen Sandström from the WEF Centre for Energy and Materials.

“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,” he comments.

“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,” adds DBSA CEO Boitumelo Mosako.

“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.”

Drawing on consultations with local and international experts led by SMET, the report identifies eight core financing barriers affecting the region, namely policy uncertainty, investment risks, energy access, transportation barriers, innovation lag, pace of industrialisation, skill gaps and demand volatility.

In response, it highlights replicable and scalable solutions, illustrated by case studies from the region.

These include the Lobito Corridor – a new railway-focused initiative to unlock export access for DRC and Zambia by linking their mineral-rich regions to Angola’s Port of Lobito.

Backed by the EU, the US, Angola, the DBSA and others, the project includes upgrades to existing rail lines and a planned 800 km extension to ease bottlenecks and foster regional trade and investment.

This is also illustrated by Namibia’s green iron initiative. In April, Namibia launched Africa’s first industrial-scale green iron facility, powered entirely by renewables.

The new plant uses solar, battery storage and the region’s largest electrolyser to produce green hydrogen for zero-emissions iron production. Backed by the EU-Namibia Green Hydrogen Partnership, the WEF explains that plans are to scale production from 15 000 t/y to two-million tonnes a year by 2030.

The report also highlights Zambia’s mining policy reform, with Zambia accounting for about 3% of global copper output, producing 700 000 t/y. The WEF notes that new national reforms, including new mining legislation, are boosting investor confidence and promoting greater local participation. Copper production is expected to reach one-million tonnes by 2026, with a national target of three-million tonnes by 2031.