Southern Africa holds vast reserves of critical minerals, yet current investment levels fall short of the region’s potential. Unlocking this potential is essential not only for advancing inclusive growth across the region but also for strengthening the resilience of global supply chains critical to the energy transition. In 2025, the World Economic Forum, with continued support from McKinsey & Company, expanded its Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition (SMET) initiative to take a regionally anchored approach, recognizing that regions like Southern Africa have a central role to play in enabling a secure, sustainable and equitable global energy transition. In collaboration with the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Forum convened key regional stakeholders to identify, prioritize and promote the necessary enablers to scale investment into Southern Africa’s critical minerals sector. This effort builds on recent multistakeholder convenings that reflect both regional priorities and international perspectives on how to accelerate the development of responsible mineral value chains. Through practical, real-world case studies, this paper serves as a tool to inspire collaboration and support the development of innovative business models. It seeks to unlock critical financing and investment opportunities, strengthen the policy and regulatory landscape, and enhance the overall enabling environment for the mineral sector in Southern Africa. Looking ahead, the SMET initiative is exploring opportunities to replicate this regionally focused approach in other geographies, with the intention of catalysing transformative change across regional mineral value chains.Foreword Jörgen Sandström Head, Transforming Industrial Ecosystems, World Economic Forum Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition: Finance for Southern Africa 4

Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition 2025