Africa has become the prime investor destination in the race for returns in the global energy transition growth, said the President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina.
He said this is because Africa will be critical for global energy transition, given the large deposits of the critical minerals available across the continent.
Akinwumi made the remarks during the opening of the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Market Days on December 4, in Rabat, Morocco. The annual event serves as a platform where investment opportunities across Africa are showcased, discussed, and advanced.
The forum, themed "Leveraging Innovative Partnerships for Scale," brought together more than 1,770 investors from over 200 institutions who will participate in 42 investment boardrooms to advance and close on investment transactions in projects tabled by the private sector and governments.
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"Africa, which currently serves as a supplier of raw minerals, has a unique opportunity to move up the critical minerals value chain, with investments in critical minerals value-adding industries," Adesina noted, emphasising Africa's attractiveness for investments.
Available data indicate that Africa holds 95 per cent of chromium, 90 per cent of platinum group metals, a two-third of global reserves of cobalt, 30 per cent of lithium and manganese, and 20 per cent of graphite, all of which are key for green transition, from electric vehicles to battery energy storage systems.
The size of the electric vehicle and battery energy storage systems is expected to rise from $7 trillion in 2030 to $59 trillion by 2050.
According to Bloomberg NEF report, the development of a lithium-ion precursor battery plant in DR Congo will be three times less expensive than in the US, China, or Poland.
"Africa needs investors to support its ambition to become a green energy power hub for the world. Africa is not as risky. Perception is not reality," Adesina noted.
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Since its creation, the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) has mobilized $180 billion of investments to Africa and facilitated transactions worth $30 billion.
Through the AIF, Rwanda mobilised $300 million in funding for the Kigali Innovation City through Africa50 whose construction began in September.
Projects showcased during the market days vary in areas such as railway, mining, renewable energy, food and agriculture, water and sanitation, seaports, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, among others.
