The core narrative of African nations asserting economic sovereignty and fostering regional trade has intensified in 2024 and 2025, driven by heightened global competition for critical minerals and the accelerating operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). This dual focus is moving beyond policy rhetoric into concrete legislative and institutional actions designed to fundamentally change the continent’s position in the global value chain.
Intensifying Resource Nationalism and New Mining Codes
In the resources sector, a clear trend toward ‘resource diplomacy’ is evident, with countries leveraging their vast reserves of lithium, cobalt, and graphite—essential for the global energy transition—to demand more equitable partnerships. This has materialized in new, stricter mining codes. For instance, Mali in 2024/2025 approved new agreements under its revised 2023 mining code, increasing the minimum state ownership to 35% (up from 20%) and raising royalties, compelling major operators like B2Gold and Ganfeng Lithiumto comply. This demonstrates a non-negotiable shift toward resource control, even as production volumes in some countries, like Mali’s gold, initially saw a decline due to regulatory uncertainty.
The African Green Minerals Strategy (AGMS) and Value Addition
Guiding this national assertiveness is the African Union’s Green Minerals Strategy (AGMS), which was formally adopted at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly in February 2025. The AGMS provides a transformative continental framework, advocating for a shift “from extraction to industrialization” by prioritizing local beneficiation and regional value chains. As a direct outcome, countries like Zambia are actively collaborating on the ECA-Afreximbank Battery and Electric Vehicle (BEV) value chain initiative to build special economic zones for producing battery precursorsand components—a concrete step towards moving up the manufacturing ladder. Furthermore, Ghana’s 2024 law establishing the state-controlled Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod)as the sole gold exporter further solidifies the aim to increase national retention of mineral wealth.
AfCFTA’s Critical Operational Milestones
Concurrently, the AfCFTA is gaining crucial operational momentum. The Guided Trade Initiative (GTI), launched in October 2022 with a handful of countries, has seen a rapid expansion to include nearly 40 State Parties by the end of 2024, signaling an undeniable political will to trade under preferential tariffs. Critically, the momentum around legal frameworks surged with the adoption of the Digital Trade Protocol (DTP)by the African Union Assembly in February 2024, a key Phase III agreement that lays the foundation for a single, open digital market and addresses issues like cross-border digital payments and data transfers.
Progress on Soft Infrastructure and Economic Uplift
While formal intra-African trade remains the lowest globally, the Afreximbank Africa Trade Report 2024 noted a rise in its formal share to 14.9% in 2023 (up from 13.6% in 2022). More importantly, attention is now focused on soft infrastructure and governance. The establishment of the AfCFTA Competition Tribunal marks a significant institutional step toward ensuring fair market rules and tackling monopolies. Furthermore, the commitment to the AfCFTA is underpinned by the massive developmental promise that full implementation could lift over 67 million individuals out of moderate poverty by 2035, highlighting its social and economic rationale beyond mere trade volume.
Solidifying Africa’s Global and Regional Agency
This dual focus on resource control and market integrationsolidifies Africa’s agency, transforming global geopolitical needs—the race for green minerals—into a catalyst for continental industrial and trade growth. The African Union’s full membership in the G20 since 2023, coupled with South Africa’s upcoming G20 Presidency in November 2025, provides a powerful platform to globally advance the AGMS and the AfCFTA’s developmental agenda. By legislating control over its natural wealth and institutionalizing free trade, Africa is strategically positioning itself to move beyond commodity dependency and finance its own economic renaissance.
