To advance Africa’s role in meeting this demand, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), and the African Union Commission (AUC) will jointly convene a high-level panel discussion on the theme Supercharging Africa´s Battery and Electric Vehicle ambitions on Sunday, 3^rd December at the Africa Pavilion in the Blue Zone at COP28 in Dubai.

The High level panel discussion will enable African Heads of State engage with fellow policy makers, the private sector, global investors, business communities and heads of multilateral agencies to identify the type of investments and policies needed to spur the creation of a sustainable and inclusive African value chain for the production of battery electric vehicles. They will also discuss the repositioning of the continent in the global supply chain of value-added metals and minerals, essential for the world´s transition to renewable energy.

The session is designed to be a “call to action” to investment and business communities, policymakers and all major stakeholders, to collaborate and invest in the rapid realization of an African Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) value chain.

The High level discussion will also identify collaborative approaches to capitalizing on Africa's major competitive advantages in the production of battery and electric vehicles; explore the most effective and innovate finance solutions and the integrated investment approaches necessary to crowd in investment in key areas of Africa´s BEV value chain; identify the local content policies and incentives necessary to onboard local enterprises into the global value chain for batteries and electric vehicles; and explore the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a lever to accelerate the processing of critical minerals for battery production.