Parsons' commentary examines how Africa, home to major shares of the world's cobalt, lithium, graphite and rare earth reserves, stands at a crossroads between remaining a raw materials exporter and building a competitive critical minerals value chain, arguing that beneficiation focused policies, infrastructure and energy integration, special economic zones, and regional value chain integration under the AfCFTA are essential to capturing more value locally, while outlining opportunities for private capital in early stage mining, joint ventures, processing plants, offtake agreements and ESG focused technology across key jurisdictions including the DRC, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Mozambique.