00:11Welcome to this edition of Business Africa.
00:13I'm your host, Afalake Oyn Looy, the top stories this week.
00:17The DRC's cobalt and copper export ban targets billions in refining margins,
00:22but a 2,000 megawatt power shortage could threaten its industrial ambitions.
00:30Zambia's copper boom is attracting billions in green energy investment,
00:34but citizens are asking who really benefits.
00:40And in Mali, Bogalon is creating new economic opportunities for women artisans
00:45through traditional craftsmanship.
00:51The Democratic Republic of Congo wants to end raw copper and cobalt export
00:56and capture more refining value at home.
00:59But with a major power deficit, can the country make that industrial leap?
01:04The Democratic Republic of Congo supplies over 70% of the world's cobalt
01:10and produces more than 3 million tons of copper annually.
01:14Now, Kinshasa is banning the exports of raw copper and cobalt concentrates
01:20to escape the extract and export trap.
01:23From Zimbabwe's lithium bans to Namibia's rare-earth curbs,
01:27African nations are trying to replicate Indonesia's playbook,
01:31which turned a ban on raw nickel ban into a domestic smeltering empire.
01:35The goal is to capture billions in lost refinery margins and build local industries.
01:42Yet Congo's ambition faces an acute bottleneck.
01:46Operating smelters require massive electricity,
01:49but the Katanga copper belt faces an energy deficit exceeding 2,000 megawatts.
01:56Join us is Landry Jimpe, managing partner at InnoJeans Consulting in the DRC.
02:01Welcome to Business Africa.
02:03Now, what copper ores are covered by the export ban,
02:07and what does this mean for miners who export unrefined ore?
02:11So, the decree issued by the DRC's Ministry of Mines two months ago,
02:17it bans exports of copper concentrates, cobalt concentrates,
02:21unless a waiver is granted.
02:23So, the decree doesn't really restrict refined products like copper cathodes or cobalt hydroxide,
02:29which today accounts for the vast majority of DRC's mineral exports.
02:34So, companies, the big players in the country,
02:37all operate quite significant local processing capacity,
02:41and they are largely unaffected by the decree that was published a few weeks ago.
02:47But then you have smaller operations who do not have in-country refining capacity,
02:54or who send most of their concentrates for total treatment abroad,
02:58notably in Zambia and China.
03:00Those are the ones that are definitely going to be affected by the decree.
03:04And for these players, they are either going to apply for temporary waivers,
03:10or stop by their output.
03:14But then, I think what the government is mostly looking for here
03:18is for these smaller players to fast-track local smelting investments
03:22to better create jobs and everything.
03:25Now, what does Kinshasa hope to gain from local smelting and refining?
03:30Does it have the capacity to support this ambition?
03:34So, the thing is,
03:36Kinshasa is more and more gaining confidence
03:40given its strategic position in the mining industry.
03:45And the country wants to make sure that it derives more value
03:49when minerals have been processed and refined on the Kogoli soil,
03:53hence creating more local jobs,
03:57increasing tax revenues,
03:59and also enabling industrialization.
04:02But definitely, I think,
04:04you mentioned something that is definitely the elephant in the room
04:06in all of this conversation,
04:08which is local processes,
04:10which is this local processing would definitely need more power
04:14and a whole lot of it.
04:15So, when you look at it today,
04:17the energy deficit in the Katanga Copper Belk,
04:20where most of the RNC's copper and copper is found and produced today,
04:23the energy deficit in the region exceeds 2,000 megawatts.
04:27You have a country today that has an installed generation capacity
04:31of roughly 2.8, almost 3 gigawatts,
04:35which means 2,800 megawatts to 3,000 megawatts,
04:38but barely half of it is reliably available.
04:40Meanwhile, the mining and the processing operations are demanding well above 3,500 megawatts.
04:47So, as a result of this,
04:48you can see the major mining operators
04:51now have had to build their own power plants,
04:54be it solar or hydro,
04:56or buy electricity from neighboring countries like Zambia.
05:00To make this melting in-country viable,
05:03the government must definitely unlock energy investments.
05:06Now, more broadly, what do African countries need to turn raw material restriction
05:12into jobs, investment, and greater local wealth?
05:16So, this is a very interesting question.
05:18They need to build their own domestic processing industry.
05:22They need real foundations,
05:24and that includes, first of all, stable power.
05:26They need functional infrastructure,
05:28because they need to move things around.
05:30They need technical skills,
05:31but also clear policy.
05:33I mean, investors would only come and invest in local facilities
05:37if they know they can operate reliably
05:39and sell competitively as well,
05:42which is very, very important,
05:43and see the rules that stay consistent with time.
05:47So, are those basics really in place?
05:52Not really,
05:53but we can see a few governments trying to make things right,
05:58especially in countries like, say, DRC, where I'm located.
06:01We can see today real support.
06:04The government is shifting from just headline bans
06:07and providing real support
06:08to fast-track local manufacturing or refining products
06:13to fast-track their go-to-market.
06:15If we really want to unlock the smear thing and refinery capacity,
06:21and especially investments necessary for that,
06:24the government will really need to get involved.
06:26So, there is a real momentum,
06:28but then we need to go ahead and after the headlines
06:34and start building and making sure that the ambition
06:39and the announcements match what is really happening on the ground.
06:44Mr. Jinpi, it's always a pleasure to have you on the show.
06:47Thank you for the invitation.
06:49It was a pleasure.
06:52Across Africa's mineral corridors,
06:55a multi-billion dollar green energy boom
06:57is meeting street-level reality.
06:59While international lenders point to fiscal progress
07:02and sovereign debt milestones,
07:04ordinary Zambians are questioning
07:06how much of the country's growing mineral wealth
07:08is reaching local communities.
07:10Here's our report.
07:12In Zambia, the rush for critical minerals
07:15has sparked massive internal migration.
07:18Yet, just as seen in the mineral belts
07:21of the DRC and West Africa,
07:23headline FDI has struggled to bridge domestic wealth inequality.
07:28I think the biggest problem is equity
07:30because what these Zambians are getting
07:33from the mining investment
07:35cannot be compared to the profits that are leaving
07:38from those that are investing in the mines.
07:39We've seen a number of people,
07:42especially in the northwestern part of Zambia,
07:45where we've seen a booming of most of the mines.
07:49And we've seen people flood in those places
07:52for them to look for jobs.
07:54This friction isn't unique to Osaka.
07:57Globally, countries like Chile and Botswana
08:00avoided the resource curse
08:02by pairing foreign capital with sovereign wealth funds
08:05and strict local value addition rules.
08:08For local entrepreneurs,
08:10the path forward is anchoring community equity
08:13and enforcing local content rules.
08:16Let's say share or equity.
08:18The community is given a certain percentage.
08:21Let's say 5%.
08:22And that is invested in a development fund
08:25for that community.
08:26There should be a deliberate policy
08:28whereby certain services can only be supplied
08:32from the people in the community,
08:33not from people out there,
08:35except for things that are not available locally.
08:38As African countries navigate the fine line
08:41between satisfying external creditors
08:43and meeting citizen expectations,
08:46structured local equity may prove to be the real blueprint
08:49for economic sovereignty.
08:54In Mali,
08:55Bogalon,
08:56an iconic textile router
08:57in the country's cultural heritage
08:59is enjoying renewed interests.
09:01For women artisans,
09:03producing and selling the traditional fabric
09:05is about more than preserving ancestral knowledge.
09:08It is also creating income,
09:10financial independence
09:11and support for their families.
09:14Here's the story.
09:15In this field,
09:17on the outskirts of Bamako,
09:18the women listen carefully to their trainer.
09:21The leaves around them
09:22will be used to make
09:23the traditional Malian fabric
09:25known as bogalan.
09:27At the Donko Training Center
09:29in Bangi, Neda,
09:30trainees learn and perfect
09:31the different stages
09:33of making the fabric.
09:35We used to gather galama
09:37and fegu leaves
09:38to make our fabrics.
09:40We also collected firewood
09:42for cooking
09:42and mixing the finished fabric
09:44with dye,
09:45which gives it the shape
09:46needed for our patterns.
09:50In Mali,
09:51women play a central role
09:52in development,
09:54which is why certain trades
09:55are prioritized
09:56to help them become
09:57financially independent.
09:59Making bogalan
10:00is a source of pride.
10:01It's also an opportunity
10:03to earn an income.
10:05With everything I've learned
10:06from our trainer,
10:07I can now produce
10:08the fabrics myself
10:09and sell them at the market,
10:10helping to support my family.
10:12Here,
10:13once the ingredients
10:14have been washed
10:15and mixed,
10:16the fabric is painted.
10:18The aim is not only
10:20to produce the fabric,
10:21but also gain the skills
10:23needed to sell it.
10:25Bogalan has no fixed price.
10:27It sells for between
10:284,000 and 5,000 CFA francs,
10:31depending on the design
10:32and texture.
10:34Some fabrics can fetch
10:3550,000, 100,000
10:37or even 1,000,000 CFA francs.
10:40Today, this iconic textile
10:42of Mali's cultural heritage
10:44is enjoying renewed interest.
10:47Bogalan also offers
10:48economic opportunities,
10:50particularly for female artisans.
11:07See you soon.
11:15Business Africa
11:16was presented
11:17by Turkish Airlines.
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