With a new energy paradigm in sight and Africa once again in possession of the critical minerals that will power it, leaders on the continent are determined that things will be done very differently. Antonio Pedro, Acting Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, is convinced that such a path is within reach. “We are in the era of sustainable transitions and Africa is in the centre of these solutions,” he says. The ECA has embraced the possibilities that this new energy paradigm, specifically in transport, holds for Africa. In partnership with other multilateral development agencies, notably the financiers – that is the African Development Bank, African Export-Import Bank, BADEA and African Finance Corporation – he says they have stepped up their efforts to put the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia at the centre of the battery and electric vehicle production value chain.
