Africa Should Make EV Batteries, Not Export Lithium, Afreximbank Urges

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) President and Chairman Dr. George Elombi is calling on African countries to cease exporting raw lithium and instead focus on building a robust electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing industry within the continent. Elombi stressed that Africa's abundant mineral resources should be harnessed for industrialization and economic progress, rather than being exported in their raw form.

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African mineral resources must work for Africa’s development. EVs are the future of transportation, and the use of lithium to produce EV batteries is taking centre stage in the EV industry.

"African mineral resources must work for Africa’s development," Elombi stated at the bank's Mid-Year Media Roundtable in Abuja. He emphasized that EVs represent the future of transportation and that lithium is central to EV battery production. "Africa must take its position in the EV industry. We have lithium. We should produce EV batteries at home. We simply have to produce them here. There is enough money in Africa to manufacture batteries in Africa," he declared, inviting potential investors in EV battery production to approach him while discouraging those seeking funding solely for lithium export.

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Africa must take its position in the EV industry. We have lithium. We should produce EV batteries at home. We simply have to produce them here. There is enough money in Africa to manufacture batteries in Africa.

Elombi also urged African governments and institutions to collaborate on repatriating capital held abroad and redirecting it towards the continent's development. He believes that African resources and investments should primarily fuel Africa's economic transformation. This call aligns with Afreximbank's broader mission to support trade, infrastructure, and economic development across the continent.

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If you know anyone who is interested in EV battery production, bring them to me. But if you see someone looking for funding to export lithium, don’t bring them to me

Furthermore, the Afreximbank president criticized certain international credit rating agencies, accusing them of holding biased views and consistently underrating African financial institutions despite their growing financial strength. He recounted how some agencies initially dismissed Afreximbank as too small and questioned its trade finance mandate, arguing that trade could not drive development. Elombi highlighted that Afreximbank has since proven these critics wrong, expanding its operations and becoming a leading development finance institution, even being recognized as "too important to fail" due to its strategic role in Africa.

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They were questioning the very treaty that established the institution and gave it its mandate. We could not accept that. They also seemed to suggest that trade could not drive development, whereas trade has always been the bedrock of economic growth