Africa Must Build Its Own E-Mobility Value Chain, Ghanaian Professor Says
Africa Must Build Its Own E-Mobility Value Chain, Ghanaian Professor Says
Creating opportunities for Africans within Africa is key to achieving self-reliance in the e-mobility sector, according to Eric Ofosu Antwi, Associate Professor at the University of Energy and Natural Resources and Coordinator of the West Africa Centres of Excellence in Energy.
Speaking to Sputnik Africa on the sidelines of the Africa E-Mobility Week, Antwi stressed that while the continent contributes less than 1% of global e-vehicle fleets, it possesses the resources — from manganese to cobalt — to drive a full manufacturing and value chain locally.
“We must create the value chain for e-mobility within Africa. We don’t have to mine these minerals, send the raw materials to Europe and China, and they turn it into batteries and come and sell it to us,” he said.
He pointed to Rwanda and Ethiopia as examples of how tax incentives and import restrictions on internal combustion engines can accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles.
The professor also emphasized the need for charging infrastructure, skills development, and regional manufacturing hubs to power Africa’s mobility revolution.
“Africa has the opportunity to be self-reliant in e-mobility and even export,” he added, calling for deliberate government action and regional cooperation under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
Watch the video to learn what's "killing" Africans, according to the scholar.
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