DBSA Calls for Financial Mobilization in Critical Minerals Sector
On October 18, 2025, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) released a statement highlighting that Southern African economies could unlock billions of dollars in financing by aligning their policies with the global demand for critical minerals. Speaking at a regional investment roundtable in Johannesburg, DBSA executives noted that growing investor interest in cobalt, lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the region to attract sustainable capital. The Bank emphasized that if properly structured, critical-minerals investments could drive both industrial diversification and fiscal resilience across SADC member states.
Financing the Energy-Transition Value Chain
According to the DBSA, international climate-finance institutions and green-bond markets are now actively seeking projects that link mineral extraction with clean-energy supply chains. This includes local processing facilities, battery-grade refineries, and cross-border infrastructure for transport and power. The Bank proposed a blended-finance model that would combine concessional loans, public-private partnerships, and sovereign guarantees to lower project risk while ensuring developmental impact. Such instruments, it argued, could enable African nations to shift from commodity-exporters to strategic suppliers of value- added products within the global green economy.
A Regional Blueprint for Sustainable Growth
The DBSA’s position marks a turning point in how African development finance institutions view mining — not as an isolated extractive industry, but as a catalyst for industrial transformation. By linking investment in critical minerals to broader regional integration efforts under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Bank envisions a network of value chains that extend from extraction to manufacturing. Analysts interpret this as a signal of increasing financial mobilization across Africa’s mineral economies — a recognition that capital, policy, and sustainability must now converge to secure the continent’s industrial future.