The United Nations says Africa produces most of the world’s cobalt but retains less than one per cent of the value generated across global green-energy supply chains.
UN Trade and Development disclosed this on Friday in its flagship Trade and Development Report 2026, released in Geneva.
The report, titled The Geoeconomics of Development, examines how geopolitical competition, technological advances and changing trade policies are reshaping economic opportunities.
It found that developing countries remained major suppliers of critical minerals required for electric vehicles, batteries, renewable energy and other strategic technologies.
However, the UN warned that the greatest financial benefits were increasingly concentrated in countries controlling processing, manufacturing and advanced industrial technologies.
According to UNCTAD, developing economies account for 60 per cent of new foreign direct investment in critical minerals and strategic materials.
In contrast, developed economies capture approximately 70 per cent of announced greenfield investment value in high-value strategic industries.
These include semiconductors, artificial intelligence infrastructure and technologies supporting the global energy transition.
The report identified Africa’s cobalt industry as an example of the imbalance between natural-resource production and participation in higher-value industrial activities.
It warned that resource abundance alone was insufficient to guarantee economic transformation or industrial competitiveness.
UNCTAD said developing countries must strengthen domestic processing, technological capabilities, infrastructure and industrial policies to retain more economic value.
The agency also advocated stronger connections between foreign investors and local suppliers to support manufacturing, employment and technology transfer.
It said international economic relationships were increasingly influenced by geopolitical interests and national security considerations.
Consequently, countries seeking industrial transformation faced greater difficulties entering sectors dominated by established global manufacturers.
The findings have implications for Nigeria’s efforts to expand its solid-minerals industry and attract foreign investment into processing and manufacturing.
Nigeria has identified critical minerals as an important component of its economic diversification and industrial development agenda.
UNCTAD stressed that developing countries must move beyond raw-material exports and strengthen their participation in regional and global value chains.
It also called for greater international cooperation to ensure that emerging technologies and the global energy transition produce more equitable development opportunities.
