Africa stands at a pivotal moment in the global green energy transition. Its vast reserves of critical energy transition minerals (CETMs) – including cobalt, lithium, copper and rare earth elements – present both an unprecedented opportunity and significant risks. Historically, Africa’s mineral wealth has been shaped by extractive colonial legacies, serving external industrialization while generating limited local development. The current global surge in demand for minerals critical to renewable energy and technological innovation offers Africa a narrow but transformative opportunity: to convert extractive industries into engines of industrialization, structural transformation and inclusive growth.