BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
The Africa Automotive Investment Forum has called on policy makers to initiate reforms required to strengthen the automotive sector, enabling investors to engage directly with manufacturers and facilitate joint ventures leading to future deals.
Organised by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in collaboration with the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM), African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Ministry of Trade and Investment of Egypt, and Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa, the forum made the request on the sidelines of the Alamein Africa Forum held in El Alamein, Egypt.
The forum also prioritised joint ventures and technology transfer agreements between global auto giants and African enterprises, targeting highly skilled engineering, manufacturing and technical jobs for Africa’s growing youth demographic while significantly boosting local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Afreximbank described the automotive sector as a strategic catalyst for Africa’s industrialisation, intra-African trade and economic resilience, adding that several African countries were already making important strides in the development of a manufacturing sector that had attracted increased investment into the emerging auto industry, including new energy vehicles.
The two-day event brought together high-level African automotive industry policymakers, private sector original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Africa-based component manufacturers.
Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank, Mrs. Kanayo Awani stated that the automotive sector is a critical pillar for advancing Africa’s industrialisation and achieving the structural transformation championed by Afreximbank.
“By driving regional value chain integration, the automotive industry directly aligns with our mandate to foster intra-African trade under the AfCFTA framework. Supporting this sector allows Afreximbank to catalyse high-impact investments, stimulate manufacturing capabilities, create skilled employment, and significantly reduce the continent’s heavy reliance on vehicle imports.
“Investing in the African automotive ecosystem is not merely a financing opportunity, but a strategic imperative that accelerates economic diversification and establishes Africa as a competitive player in the global industrial economy,” she said.
Awani stated that significant investment opportunities existed in Africa’s automotive manufacturing sector, including component manufacturing, leveraging the continent’s growing skills base and raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, copper, iron and steel.
She hinted that Afreximbank is championing the development of a pan-African automotive manufacturing sector comprising an interrelated component and vehicle manufacturing ecosystem, supported by intra-African supply chains and trade.
Awani said that Afreximbank had committed US$1 billion towards financing Africa’s automotive sector as part of its strategy to promote manufacturing, trade and industrial development across Africa.
The forum witnessed the signing of a joint venture agreement between Malben Engineering from South Africa and Egypt-based industrial conglomerate El Araby Group to establish a joint platform for manufacturing components serving Egypt, South Africa and broader African markets.
President of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM), Mr. Tarek Mosaad noted that the association remains focused on three key priorities such as growing local content through regional value chains, easy transportation of automotive products across borders and ensuring that Africa plays a meaningful role in shaping the future of mobility.
“With the AfCFTA Rules of Origin now agreed, the foundation for a more integrated automotive industry is in place. Our focus must shift to turning ambition into action by creating factories, strengthening supplier ecosystems, generating jobs, and increasing intra-African trade,” he said.
He cautioned that investors are not looking at 54 separate African markets but one with integrated opportunity.
Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, H.E. Wamkele Mene outlined three priorities for advancing the Strategy for the African Automotive Sector under the AfCFTA framework.
They are developing investment-ready projects and competitive production locations; strengthening regional supplier networks and deepening localisation; and establishing commercially viable regional production.
The AfCFTA Secretariat and the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in developing Africa’s automotive industry.
It provides a framework for cooperation in implementing the strategy for the African Automotive Sector under the AfCFTA, covering automotive Rules of Origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, automotive policy and standards, capacity building, regional supplier and value-chain development, mineral beneficiation, investment mobilisation and emerging automotive technologies.
The partnership will also support ongoing efforts by the AfCFTA secretariat and Afreximbank to advance the AfCFTA Automotive Investment Plan, with a focus on mobilising investment and strengthening competitive regional automotive production networks.
For a more practical experience, delegates visited OEMs Nissan Motor Corporation, General Motors Egypt, Al Mansour Automotive and components manufacturer, Mobica.
The visits offered a first-hand view of Egypt’s automotive industrial base, showcasing the progression from vehicle assembly and localisation to supplier development, manufacturing capabilities and regional market reach, while illustrating the tangible opportunities for investment, technology transfer and cross-border value-chain integration that can help position Africa as a competitive automotive manufacturing hub.
With African vehicle demand expected to reach five million by 2035 as well as rising interest in new energy vehicles globally, industry stakeholders and policymakers have resolved to drive domestic industrialisation through the automotive sector and renewables, leveraging African raw materials.
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