At the 9th German-African Economic Forum NRW in Dortmund, africon CEO Marc Zander moderated one of the forum’s key sessions: the panel on Raw Materials, Infrastructure and Industry in Africa.
Held on 3 March 2026 at the IHK Dortmund under the motto “Africa Business: Call to Action!”, the forum brought together more than 300 senior representatives from business, politics and diplomacy. Organised since 2010 by Auslandsgesellschaft.de on behalf of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, it has established itself as one of Germany’s most important platforms for economic dialogue with Africa.
The panel took place against a backdrop of growing urgency around raw material supply security. Europe currently sources the vast majority of its rare earth magnets from China, a dependency that has come into sharper focus as China has begun restricting export licences for strategically critical materials. The industries directly affected span automotive, defence, aerospace, AI infrastructure and data centres. Africa holds a significant share of the resources that European industry needs to diversify these supply chains, making the continent’s raw materials sector a priority topic not only for resource companies, but for a broad range of industrial sectors.
Four practitioners with deep operational experience across Africa’s raw materials and infrastructure landscape participated:
- Leandro Fernandez, CEO of INZAG Germany GmbH
- Sandy Bolte, Senior Manager Sustainable & International Trade Finance at Projects Materials GmbH
- Martin Selig, CEO of FRENELL GmbH
- Mirko Liebetrau, Managing Director of ISEBAR, Agentur für Rohstoffe und Nachhaltigkeit GmbH
The discussion reflected a broader shift in how German companies are approaching Africa: not as a peripheral export market, but as a strategic partner in global value chains for raw materials, energy infrastructure and industrial development. The panel explored what it takes to build resilient, long-term business models on the continent.
Three key learnings from the discussion stood out:
- German companies need a local presence, whether through their own offices or reliable local partners.
- Infrastructure projects are won at two levels: locally, with the decision-makers on the ground, and globally, where project decisions are ultimately taken. Companies need to map the full decision-making process from the local level upwards.
- German suppliers and companies are competitive in Africa. China has a strong presence, but Germany can hold its own on pricing in local markets.
German companies looking to develop or refine their Africa strategy, whether in raw materials, infrastructure, or industrial value chains are invited to contact africon for a confidential discussion.
africon extends sincere thanks to Auslandsgesellschaft.de for hosting such a productive and forward-looking event, and looks forward to continuing this dialogue in support of stronger German-African collaboration.
What is your potential in Africa? If you have any questions, contact us at info@africon.de.
