Cheap, reliable power has long been the missing link in Africa's efforts to industrialise. Moving from exporting raw materials to refining and processing them at home is essential to retaining more value and creating better-paid jobs for local communities. The global critical minerals boom has made that opportunity even greater: Africa holds about 30% of the world's reserves of metals such as cobalt, copper and manganese, which are essential to products ranging from electric vehicles to AI data centres.
In August, Tanzania completed the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project - on time and largely within budget - taking a major step towards removing this constraint. As Africa's fourth-largest dam, it is a striking engineering achievement. Yet the industrial vision it supports is what could ultimately transform the country.
