Africa’s vast reserves of critical minerals and its push to build regional manufacturing value chains are emerging as a key test of whether the AfCFTA can deliver structural economic transformation, according to Prof. Faizel Ismail, convenor of the AfCFTA Advisory Council.
On the AfCFTA podcast, Prof. Ismail said the free-trade pact has created a framework that could allow African countries to coordinate industrial policy and negotiate more effectively with global powers seeking access to minerals needed for electric vehicles, batteries and clean technologies. Africa holds more than 30% of the world’s reserves of several key minerals, including cobalt, lithium and manganese.
Ismail noted that the challenge now is to align AfCFTA implementation with industrial strategies that move beyond extraction toward processing and manufacturing. Without coordination, he warned, African countries risk competing against one another and repeating patterns of commodity dependence.
Automotive manufacturing is one sector where the AfCFTA is already shaping private-sector behavior. Global carmakers have formed an African industry association to advocate for a larger, integrated market, recognizing that individual national markets are too small to support competitive production. Engagement between automakers and the AfCFTA Secretariat has focused on building supply chains that could eventually support electric vehicle production on the continent.
Prof. Ismail says similar opportunities exist in agriculture and agro-processing, noting Africa’s large share of the world’s underutilized arable land. The continent has between 60% to 65% of the world’s remaining uncultivated, underutilized arable land.
Coordinated investment under the AfCFTA could allow the continent to expand food production and processing, reducing imports while boosting exports.
According to Prof. Ismail, the pace of Africa’s integration compares favorably with historical precedents, noting that Europe took decades to evolve from sectoral cooperation into a common market. By contrast, Africa has negotiated a continent-wide framework in just a few years, while incorporating flexibility to account for disparities among countries.
The next phase, Prof. Ismail said, will depend on investment-led integration, with the private sector driving production networks and governments ensuring policy coherence. Universities and research institutions also have a role in building technical capacity and informing policy, particularly in complex areas such as critical minerals and industrial development.
Without decisive action, Prof. Ismail warned, Africa risks missing a narrow window to position itself in the global economy as demand for new technologies accelerates.
