Powering Progress: Unlocking Central Africa's Industrial Future Through Energy Integration

Despite its extraordinary endowment in hydrocarbons, minerals, and renewable resources, Central Africa finds itself shackled by a paradox: staggering energy poverty amidst abundant energy potential.

- By Our Reporter

From Gabon’s world-class manganese deposits to the natural gas fields of Equatorial Guinea and the crude oil pipelines of Angola, the region has everything it needs to fuel its industrial transformation—except the infrastructure to do it.

Across the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), energy shortages are stalling progress. Countries like Chad, with oil production dating back to 2003, suffer from an electrification rate of just 11%. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), rural electrification lingers at a meager 1%, despite enormous hydrocarbon and hydropower potential. These deficits are more than just statistics—they are barriers to inclusive growth, manufacturing expansion, and economic sovereignty.

A Region Starved of Power

Gabon, the world’s second-largest manganese producer, processes almost none of its minerals locally due to unreliable electricity supply. Despite producing over 9,000 kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktep) in 2020, associated natural gas is grossly underutilized. Cameroon, with 9 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, exports 80% of its crude oil without refining or local processing, its industrial expansion curtailed by weak infrastructure and frequent power outages.