As African leaders meet in Lusaka and Harare to discuss mining investment and regional integration, researchers Dr Tamuka Charles Chirimambowa and Dr Blessing Ivan Vava argue that new railways, trade corridors and mineral-processing plants will deliver limited benefits unless they create jobs, strengthen African businesses and improve the lives of mining communities.
Africa is rich in minerals that the world increasingly needs. From Zambia’s copper to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s cobalt and Zimbabwe’s lithium, the continent occupies an important position in the global transition towards cleaner energy and new technologies.
Yet an uncomfortable question remains: how much of the wealth generated from these resources stays in the countries and communities where they are extracted?
For decades, African economies have exported raw materials while importing finished products, machinery and technology, often at much higher prices. New investments in railways, border facilities and regional trade corridors promise to improve the movement of goods, but they do not automatically change this economic relationship.
That is the central concern raised in a new PARI-Africa policy paper, From Mining Corridors to Digital Infrastructure: Can Regional Integration Drive Africa’s Productive Transformation?
The paper comes as Zambia hosts the Mining and Investment Insaka in Lusaka from 19 to 23 October 2026, while regional leaders gather in Harare for the 25th Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Summit.
Both meetings place regional integration, industrialisation and investment at the centre of discussions.
But the question is not simply whether African countries can trade more efficiently. It is whether they can produce more of what they consume, develop their own industries and retain a greater share of the value generated from their natural resources.
Faster Exports Do Not Necessarily Mean Greater Prosperity
Major infrastructure investments are reshaping Southern Africa’s mineral transport routes.
The Lobito Corridor, supported by the United States, European Union and African Development Bank, seeks to connect the mineral-rich Copperbelt to Angola’s Atlantic coast.
Meanwhile, China, Zambia and Tanzania signed a US$1.4 billion concession agreement in November 2025 to rehabilitate and operate the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) railway.
These investments could reduce transport costs, improve access to international markets and increase mineral exports.
However, faster movement of minerals does not necessarily translate into more manufacturing jobs or stronger local businesses.
A railway that transports copper more efficiently to a foreign port may increase export earnings without creating substantial opportunities for Zambian engineering companies, equipment manufacturers or technology firms.
The researchers argue that regional integration must go beyond reducing trade barriers.
They identify three priorities: making cross-border trade more efficient, processing more goods within Africa, and developing the skills, technologies and businesses needed to sustain production.
Without the third element, African economies risk remaining dependent on foreign companies for machinery, expertise and technology, even when minerals are processed locally.
Zambia and DRC’s battery ambitions face a practical test
Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo agreed in 2022 to develop a regional battery value chain, including special economic zones at Ndola in Zambia and Musompo in the DRC.
The initiative presents an opportunity for the two countries to move beyond exporting copper and cobalt towards producing materials used in electric vehicle batteries.
However, the PARI-Africa paper highlights several obstacles, including unreliable electricity, policy uncertainty, shortages of specialised skills and delays at border crossings.
These challenges demonstrate why industrialisation cannot be achieved simply by establishing processing facilities.
A battery plant requires reliable power, trained workers, technical expertise, supporting industries and access to markets.
The researchers argue that Zambia and the DRC could benefit from closer cooperation with Zimbabwe and South Africa, whose engineering, chemical and manufacturing industries could contribute to regional production.
Rather than each country attempting to establish an entire battery industry independently, they propose a coordinated regional approach that allows countries to specialise in different stages of production.
Such cooperation would require governments to align investment incentives, improve electricity supply and support local suppliers.
Who owns the processing plant?
Processing minerals within Africa is an important step towards retaining more economic value, but it does not guarantee that African businesses and workers will benefit.
The paper points to Indonesia’s experience with nickel processing.
Following its ban on nickel ore exports in 2020, Indonesia recorded a substantial increase in processed nickel exports, from US$5.8 billion to US$22 billion within three years.
However, the researchers note that Chinese companies control more than three-quarters of the country’s nickel-processing capacity.
The experience raises questions about whether increased processing necessarily results in local ownership, technology transfer or the development of domestic industries.
Zimbabwe’s lithium sector presents similar concerns.
Despite restrictions intended to encourage domestic processing, much of the country’s lithium export earnings still come from concentrates rather than more advanced products.
The researchers argue that governments should measure industrial progress not only by the number of processing plants established, but also by the skills transferred, local businesses supported and value retained within their economies.
Mining communities must not be left behind
For communities living near mining operations, the question of who benefits from mineral wealth is particularly urgent.
In Zambia’s Copperbelt, mining has generated significant economic activity while also exposing surrounding communities to environmental and social risks.
The February 2025 failure of a tailings dam at Sino-Metals Leach near Kitwe illustrates these concerns.
The incident released acidic mining waste into the environment, damaging crops, contaminating water sources and disrupting water supplies.
The PARI-Africa paper cites the incident as an example of how communities can bear the environmental costs of mineral extraction without necessarily receiving a proportionate share of its economic benefits.
Similar concerns have been documented in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where communities have faced displacement and disputes over compensation linked to copper and cobalt mining developments.
The researchers argue that host communities should be recognised as participants in decisions affecting their land, water and livelihoods.
They propose stronger protection of land rights, fair compensation, meaningful consultation and environmental guarantees to ensure that companies can meet the costs of rehabilitation when damage occurs.
They also recommend that a defined share of mineral revenue should reach host districts through transparent community funds.
For mining towns such as Chingola, Kitwe and Solwezi, these proposals raise a practical question: how much of the wealth extracted from surrounding mines is reflected in better roads, schools, healthcare and economic opportunities?
Local businesses need more than promises
Another concern raised by the researchers is the limited participation of African businesses in mining supply chains.
Mining companies purchase machinery, spare parts, engineering services, software and other goods worth substantial amounts of money.
Yet local businesses often struggle to secure these contracts because of limited access to finance, technical capacity and established procurement relationships.
The paper proposes that governments and mining companies move beyond general commitments to local content and establish structured supplier-development programmes.
Such programmes would help domestic firms meet technical standards, develop products and compete for larger contracts.
The researchers point to Chile’s experience, where mining companies have worked with local suppliers to develop solutions to operational challenges.
They argue that similar arrangements could support African engineering companies, manufacturers, universities and technology firms.
The objective should not simply be to award contracts to locally registered businesses, but to help them develop lasting productive capacity.
The digital economy presents similar challenges
The paper also extends its analysis beyond mining to Africa’s expanding digital economy.
While African countries have demonstrated considerable innovation in mobile money and digital financial services, much of the continent’s telecommunications and data infrastructure remains dependent on foreign technology and investment.
According to figures cited in the paper, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for approximately 18 percent of the world’s population but only 0.6 percent of global data-centre capacity.
The researchers argue that African governments should use public procurement, regional cooperation and technology partnerships to develop domestic digital capabilities.
Mining companies, utilities and public institutions could provide important markets for African technology businesses offering software, automation, logistics and maintenance services.
This would allow mineral-rich economies to participate not only in the extraction of resources used in modern technologies, but also in developing and maintaining the technologies themselves.
Transparency will determine who benefits
The researchers also warn that regional integration and industrial policy can create opportunities for corruption and preferential treatment when investment agreements are negotiated without public scrutiny.
Mining concessions, tax incentives, procurement arrangements and infrastructure contracts can determine how natural-resource wealth is distributed for decades.
Yet citizens often have limited access to the agreements governing these investments.
The paper calls for greater disclosure of mining and infrastructure contracts, identification of the beneficial owners of companies receiving licences, and stronger parliamentary scrutiny of major agreements.
It also proposes public reporting on tax incentives and their economic outcomes.
These measures would make it easier to determine whether investments are delivering promised jobs, local procurement opportunities, technology transfer and public revenue.
A different measure of success
The PARI-Africa researchers propose that COMESA and the Southern African Development Community introduce annual assessments of major transport corridors, including Lobito, TAZARA and the North–South Corridor.
Rather than measuring success primarily through infrastructure spending and the volume of goods transported, they recommend tracking local procurement, skilled employment, manufacturing growth, environmental performance and revenue reaching host communities.
The proposal reflects a broader argument: regional integration should be judged by what African economies become capable of producing, not simply by how efficiently they export what lies beneath their soil.
As African leaders discuss new investments and regional partnerships, the challenge is to ensure that the benefits extend beyond governments, mining companies and international financiers.
For ordinary citizens in mineral-rich communities, meaningful economic transformation would be visible in better public services, more employment opportunities, stronger local businesses and a fairer share of mineral wealth.
Africa’s railways, refineries and digital infrastructure may help determine the continent’s economic future. But the lasting measure of success will be whether they strengthen African industries and improve the lives of the people whose resources make those investments possible.
Editor’s note: This article is adapted from the PARI-Africa Public Policy Dialogue Series, No. 1, October 2026, From Mining Corridors to Digital Infrastructure: Can Regional Integration Drive Africa’s Productive Transformation, authored by Dr Tamuka Charles Chirimambowa of the Masosote Institute for Political Economy and Dr Blessing Ivan Vava of the Southern Africa Coalition for Democracy and Accountability (SACDA). The arguments and recommendations reflect the authors’ analysis.
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