By Sharon Mdaka
The demand for critical minerals alongside the shift into renewable energy is giving Africa an advantage when it comes to minerals and metals development. According to the head of Metals and Mining at the IFC, Namrata Thapar, Africa is a ‘big’ connector to the global supply chain when it comes to commodities. Holding about 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, the continent is expected to play an essential role in future supply chains for critical minerals required in batteries, renewable energy technologies and industrial manufacturing.
While the government seeks to maximise the developmental impact of these resources through beneficiation, local ownership and stronger fiscal returns, investors are looking for policy stability, infrastructure readiness and long-term certainty. The challenge is no longer whether Africa has the minerals, but whether it can balance resource nationalism with competitiveness in a way that attracts sustained investment.
Speaking at Mining Indaba, Thapar explained why Africa’s opportunity extends well beyond extraction. “Africa has a real advantage in the minerals and metals development. It already plays a major role in global commodity supply chains and holds 30% of the minerals needed by the world,” she said.
However, she emphasised that the continent’s long-term advantage lies equally in its demographic potential. By 2040, the continent’s 500 million youth are expected to enter the labour market, creating a sense of urgency around industrialisation and job creation.
Thapar added that employment creation is one of the critical factors driving many governments, and that African governments are increasingly reframing discussions around mining investment. Rather than focusing solely on royalties and export revenues, policymakers are now prioritising value addition, local beneficiation and broader economic participation.
According to Thapar, governments are no longer interested in “divvying up the pie” but instead want to create a larger economic pie that benefits governments, investors, host communities and local industries alike.
This shift is reflected in growing interest in downstream processing and regional industrial development. Countries are exploring opportunities to develop refining, smelting and manufacturing capabilities linked to their mineral resources.
Greater in-country processing creates jobs, develops technical skills and stimulates adjacent sectors such as energy, logistics and manufacturing. “Mining and minerals sit as a conduit to so many sectors,” Thapar explained. “If you want to develop the mineral value chain, you need energy, transport and infrastructure. That creates jobs across the broader economy.” However, achieving this ambition remains far from straightforward.
One of the biggest barriers to Africa’s mining ambitions continues to be infrastructure. Reliable power, transport corridors, rail networks and port facilities remain insufficient in many mining jurisdictions.
She said that while governments are making progress, infrastructure development is capital-intensive and often characterised by long lead times; and explained that there can be tensions between mining happening today and infrastructure taking another 10 years to develop.
Energy infrastructure remains particularly critical if countries are serious about value addition. Processing and refining activities require substantial and reliable electricity supplies, something many African economies still struggle to provide consistently.
To address this challenge, the IFC and African Development Bank launched the Mission 300 initiative in early 2025. The programme aims to provide electricity access to 300 million Africans by mobilising partnerships between governments, development finance institutions and private investors.
The initiative has already connected 30 million people within its first year, as stated by Thapar. Transport infrastructure is another priority area. Regional corridors such as the Lobito Corridor are increasingly viewed as strategic assets that can unlock intra-African trade, reduce logistics costs and improve competitiveness.
The IFC’s sister organisation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), is supporting risk guarantees to attract private capital into these large-scale infrastructure developments.
While governments pursue stronger localisation strategies, investors remain focused on one overriding issue: certainty. Mining projects are inherently long-term, capital-intensive ventures with investment horizons stretching decades into the future. Investors, therefore, require confidence that regulatory frameworks, fiscal terms and ownership structures will remain predictable over time.
“Investors want stability. The metals and mining value chain has become increasingly complex and capital-intensive.” She explained that investors are particularly sensitive to policy shifts that alter project economics after capital has already been committed. Sudden changes to tax regimes, state participation requirements or export restrictions can undermine confidence and discourage future investment.
Infrastructure uncertainty also compounds investor concerns. Mining companies are often reluctant to assume responsibility for building and managing railways or power systems outside their core expertise.
At the same time, financing structures are becoming more complex, particularly for downstream processing projects where margins are often relatively low compared to extraction activities. Questions around state equity participation, risk-sharing and access to financing are becoming increasingly important in negotiations between governments and investors.
Despite these tensions, she remains optimistic that Africa can find the right balance. Her central message was that successful mining development increasingly depends on partnerships built on transparency, alignment and long-term collaboration.
“Listening to understand rather than listening to answer,” she reflected, describing what she sees as one of the most important ingredients for successful stakeholder engagement. This partnership model extends beyond governments and miners to include development finance institutions, infrastructure providers and local communities.
The IFC, for example, is focused on mobilising private capital through blended finance structures, concessional funding and strategic equity partnerships. One recent initiative includes investment alongside Appian Capital in emerging market mining projects, particularly mid-sized developments in the USD300-million to USD500-million range.
Such projects, Thapar argued, can still generate meaningful developmental impact while broadening access to financing across the sector.
Looking ahead, Thapar believes Africa’s mining success will ultimately depend on whether countries adopt a more integrated and coordinated approach to development. Mining policy can no longer exist in isolation from broader industrial, energy and infrastructure planning.
Governments that align mining strategies with energy expansion, transport infrastructure and industrialisation objectives are more likely to attract sustainable investment while maximising local economic impact.