Africa’s copper opportunity: Raw material exporter or value chain leader?
Copper has quietly become Africa’s second most valuable export after oil, generating an estimated $35 billion in 2024. But this headline figure hides a deeper imbalance. Nearly 98% of Africa’s copper export value is concentrated in just ten countries, led by the Democratic Republic of Congo ($19.8 billion) and Zambia ($7.6 billion). While 52 out of 54 African nations technically export copper, most do so in negligible volumes and with minimal economic impact.
Namibia, ranked eighth with $429 million in copper exports, holds a strategic foothold as both a transit corridor and a processing node for European and African markets. Yet like much of the continent, we continue to ship predominantly raw or semi-processed copper. The higher-margin refining, manufacturing, and end-product value creation still happens offshore.
This is emblematic of Africa’s broader industrialisation challenge: we extract, we export, and we leave most of the value on the table. As global demand for copper accelerates driven by electric vehicles, grid infrastructure, and clean energy technologies the question is no longer whether the commodity is valuable, but whether Africa can build the downstream capabilities to benefit meaningfully from it.
Staying a raw material supplier may deliver near-term revenue. But long-term development jobs, skills, and capital retention depends on moving up the value chain. Africa must decide whether it will continue exporting opportunity or finally start capturing it.
Namibia, ranked eighth with $429 million in copper exports, holds a strategic foothold as both a transit corridor and a processing node for European and African markets. Yet like much of the continent, we continue to ship predominantly raw or semi-processed copper. The higher-margin refining, manufacturing, and end-product value creation still happens offshore.
This is emblematic of Africa’s broader industrialisation challenge: we extract, we export, and we leave most of the value on the table. As global demand for copper accelerates driven by electric vehicles, grid infrastructure, and clean energy technologies the question is no longer whether the commodity is valuable, but whether Africa can build the downstream capabilities to benefit meaningfully from it.
Staying a raw material supplier may deliver near-term revenue. But long-term development jobs, skills, and capital retention depends on moving up the value chain. Africa must decide whether it will continue exporting opportunity or finally start capturing it.
