Guidance

Growth Gateway: Investing in critical minerals processing in Africa, global trends

Africa holds significant potential to expand its role in global critical mineral supply chains, but must overcome processing gaps and supply constraints to increase more value.

Documents

Details

This document was developed by the Growth Gateway team, led by the Boston Consulting Group, for use by FCDO stakeholders, development finance institutions, and UK investors seeking to understand Africa’s potential in the global critical minerals value chain.

The document presents in-depth market analysis of 7 key minerals (cobalt, lithium, graphite, nickel, copper, manganese, and rare earth elements) and their implications for Africa’s role in upstream and downstream processing.

It introduces a Minimum Viable Scale framework to guide strategic investment decisions and assesses market dynamics, supply risks, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations, and opportunities for UK commercial engagement. The pack supports policy dialogue and investment prioritisation at both country and regional levels.

Find out more about Growth Gateway.

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Published 13 October 2025

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