Africa must avoid oil-era mistakes in critical minerals – Experts  

The African Development Bank said in July that Africa held about 30 per cent of the world’s critical mineral deposits but continued to capture only a negligible share of the economic value because much of the continent’s minerals were exported unprocessed.

Ms Magdalena Wüst, Deputy Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland, said the energy and extractive sectors remained critical to Africa’s growth but continued to face challenges including weak governance, limited value addition, revenue leakages and unequal benefit sharing.

She said Africa must move beyond being a resource supplier to capturing greater value from its natural wealth as global energy systems evolved and demand for critical minerals rose.