A recent report by the World Economic Forum has underscored Southern Africa’s pivotal role in the global energy transition, revealing that the region holds nearly 30% of the world’s reserves of critical minerals. These include cobalt, lithium, copper, graphite, manganese, and platinum group metals—resources essential for renewable energy technologies, electric vehicles, and advanced manufacturing. This concentration of reserves places Southern Africa at the heart of global supply chains for the coming decades, positioning it as a strategic partner in the race to decarbonize and electrify economies worldwide.
Despite this immense geological advantage, Southern Africa currently attracts less than 10% of global exploration spending, a figure far below its potential. Structural challenges—including political instability, governance issues, limited infrastructure, and regulatory uncertainty—continue to deter investment. At the same time, competition for resources is intensifying, with major economies such as China, the United States, and the European Union seeking to secure long-term supply agreements. Without a concerted effort to unlock exploration capital, much of the region’s critical mineral wealth risks remaining untapped, limiting its ability to translate resource abundance into sustainable economic development.
The WEF report highlights the urgent need for regional strategies that balance investment promotion with governance reforms, environmental safeguards, and community engagement. Properly managed, Southern Africa could leverage its critical mineral endowment to accelerate industrialization, strengthen regional value chains, and capture greater benefits from global demand. However, without stronger institutions and transparent frameworks, the region risks becoming a mere extraction hub for foreign powers, repeating the historic pattern of exporting raw materials without local transformation. The future of the global energy transition will, in many ways, depend on how Southern Africa manages this unique opportunity.