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What Does It Take to Implement Africa-Europe Critical Minerals Partnerships?

Follow Up to The Africa Roundtable N°9

What Does It Take to Implement Africa-Europe Critical Minerals Partnerships?

March 26, 2026

Berlin

At the ninth edition of The Africa Roundtable on raw material partnerships, discussions made clear that Europe’s ambitions to secure access to critical minerals in Africa will remain difficult to achieve without stronger private sector engagement. In this follow-up Circle, participants worked to further refine and operationalize the resulting recommendations.

With around 30% of the world’s critical minerals located on the African continent, Africa is a key partner for Europe’s green and digital transition. While other actors, such as China, recognized this strategic importance early and invested accordingly, European engagement in energy and infrastructure projects has so far remained limited.

The focus now is on translating strategic interest into viable business cases. This will require greater private investment, reduced bureaucratic barriers, effective risk-sharing instruments, and a clear commitment to local value creation and sustainable standards.

Contact Persons

Stephanie Igunbor, s.igunbor@globalperspectives.org

Supported by

McKinsey & Company

Circle

We believe in proximity building trust. Our most personal format therefore offers the opportunity to deepen the knowledge of our high-ranking guests in a small circle, together with an exchange of experiences, in dialogue.

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