Africa must take bold steps to own its resources, create jobs and build industries that sustain prosperity for generations, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) told African leaders, policymakers, mining industry leaders and global partners at the Mining Indaba 2025 in Cape Town.
In a keynote address at the ministerial symposium of the Indaba, Denys Denya, senior executive vice-president of the Afreximbank Group, argued that the continent was standing at a crossroads and could either continue exporting its wealth and remain a marginal player in the global economy or take the bold steps to own its resources.
He noted, “While the global mining industry generated approximately US$1.7 trillion in revenue in 2023, Africa’s share of this wealth remains disproportionately low. Our continent extracts the raw materials that power the world’s industries, yet it is estimated we retain as little as between 4% and 20% of the total value of our minerals due to minimal local processing and limited downstream development. The result? Lost economic opportunities, exposure to volatile commodity cycles and a persistent reliance on external markets for refined products derived from our own resources.
“The choice is ours. The time to act is now. Let us work together: governments, financial institutions, investors and industry players to build an Africa where mining is not just about extraction but about transformation, innovation and wealth creation. Africa has the resources, the market potential and the policy frameworks to transition from a resource-dependent continent to an industrial powerhouse.
“However, success will depend on bold, decisive action from all stakeholders. Policymakers must implement clear, enforceable regulations that mandate local value addition and create investment-friendly environments. Private sector investors must step up with capital and technology to develop processing, refining and manufacturing facilities,” he added.
Reversing this trend demanded bold, co-ordinated action, Denya argued. “We must move beyond extraction and invest in refining, smelting and advanced manufacturing. African nations must increase local processing capacity for minerals such as bauxite, lithium, cobalt and iron ore.”
He said regional collaboration was essential, as no single country could build a mining value chain in isolation.
Denya also highlighted the importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in developing intra-African mineral value chains and strengthening cross-border collaboration, saying that attracting capital for mining-related infrastructure, technology transfer and skills development was critical.
“Our mining policies must also prioritise environmental, social and governance standards, ensuring mining benefits communities rather than displacing them,” he said, adding that the approach would create millions of skilled jobs for the youth and reduce reliance on volatile global markets while strengthening intra-African trade.
Reiterating Afreximbank’s commitment to supporting Africa’s mining sector and ensuring mineral wealth drove economic growth rather than perpetuate resource dependency, Denya announced that, over the past three years, the bank had approved more than US$1 billion in support of mining and mineral sector projects across the continent, including financing the development and construction of a bauxite processing plant in Guinea, supporting the expansion of a manganese processing plant in Gabon, and providing working capital financing to a diamond company in Botswana.
Other major projects being supported by the bank include a petrochemical fertiliser plant in Angola, a titanium dioxide pigment plant in South Africa, and the feasibility study for the development of a limestone mine processing plant in Malawi.
Denya said the establishment of the US$10-billion AfCFTA Adjustment Fund – managed by the Fund for Export Development in Africa, Afreximbank’s impact investment subsidiary – would provide critical financial support to countries and businesses transitioning to the new trade regime, including those in the mining sector, and that the bank’s efforts to harmonise standards and implement the African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme would also facilitate seamless movement of minerals and mining equipment across borders, reducing logistical bottlenecks.
Afreximbank was also leveraging digital platforms, such as the Africa Trade Gateway and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, to enable efficient transactions and market access, which would ensure Africa’s vast mineral wealth was utilised to drive industrialisation, value addition and economic resilience across the continent.
Denya further noted that Afreximbank, in collaboration with development partners, was driving the development and expansion of industrial parks and special economic zones (SEZs) to address infrastructure challenges that hinder industrial growth.
One of the most transformative initiatives under that pillar was the DRC/Zambia Electric Vehicle Battery Manufacturing SEZs: a project that positions Africa at the centre of the global energy transition by the implementation of battery precursor SEZs aimed at making the two countries globally competitive investment destinations for the electric vehicle battery value chain.
