MTN Group Chairman Mcebisi Jonas has warned that Africa risks surrendering one of its strongest strategic advantages if individual countries continue negotiating critical-mineral agreements separately instead of leveraging the continent’s collective strength.
Jonas made the argument while addressing Fellows of the fifth cohort of the MTN Media Innovation Programme during a study visit to South Africa, where discussions focused on Africa’s geopolitical position amid intensifying global competition for strategic resources.
He identified two major assets that could significantly improve Africa’s leverage in the global economy: the continent’s concentration of critical minerals and its rapidly expanding youthful population.
According to Jonas, the global transition toward electric vehicles, battery production, semiconductors and renewable-energy infrastructure has sharply increased demand for minerals found in significant quantities across Africa.
He cautioned, however, that mineral wealth would not automatically translate into greater prosperity or geopolitical influence unless African countries improved the way they negotiated access to those resources.
Jonas argued that separate country-by-country deals could weaken Africa’s bargaining position and make it easier for major global powers and corporations to secure resources without offering the broader industrial, technological and economic benefits the continent could command collectively.
He said a more coordinated African approach could improve the continent’s ability to negotiate for local processing, industrial development, technology transfer, skills, infrastructure and stronger participation in global value chains.
The MTN chairman also described Africa’s youthful population as an important economic and strategic asset, particularly as many developed economies face aging populations and growing demand for skilled labour.
He said the continent’s demographic advantage could become a major source of global influence if governments invested effectively in education, technology, entrepreneurship and productive employment.
Jonas linked MTN Group’s long-term prospects to the wider development of Africa, saying the telecommunications company could not sustainably succeed if the economies and societies in which it operated failed to prosper.
His comments come as competition intensifies among major economies for long-term access to lithium, cobalt, copper, rare earths and other minerals considered essential to clean energy and advanced technology.
Jonas said Africa’s challenge was therefore not simply to possess strategic resources but to use them collectively and deliberately to secure stronger economic outcomes for its people.
