A senior executive from the Critical Minerals Africa Group (CMAG) will join policymakers, investors and industry leaders at a high-level energy investment forum in Paris next week, as attention on Africa’s role in the global energy transition continues to intensify.
Olimpia Pilch, Chief Strategy Officer of CMAG, will participate in the Invest in African Energy Forum scheduled for April 22 to 23, 2026, where agenda items include investment trends, regulatory frameworks and emerging technologies shaping Africa’s energy sector.
Pilch’s participation will focus on strengthening mineral-to-energy value chains, advancing sustainable resource development and fostering cross-border partnerships that enable long-term energy security across the continent.
“Africa represents one of the most exciting frontiers for both critical minerals development and energy investment,” Pilch said. “This forum provides a vital platform to align stakeholders, unlock capital, and accelerate responsible resource and energy development that strengthens local value chains while supporting global energy transition goals.”
CMAG was established to foster deeper relationships between Africa and global markets by enabling resilient and diversified critical minerals supply chains that benefit the communities in which resources are extracted, while accelerating economic development through value-adding activities.
The organisation’s focus carries growing economic weight. Sub-Saharan Africa holds an estimated 30 percent of the world’s proven critical minerals reserves, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that properly harnessing these resources could increase the sub-region’s gross domestic product by 12 percent or more by 2050.
The energy transition is driving unprecedented demand for minerals critical to clean technologies, with solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems requiring significantly more cobalt, lithium and nickel than conventional energy systems.
The Invest in African Energy Forum is expected to attract key decision-makers from across the energy value chain, with discussions covering Africa’s critical minerals landscape, growing digital infrastructure and shifting policy environments that are positioning the continent as a new frontier for capital deployment.
Pilch’s appearance at the Paris forum reflects a broader strategic push by CMAG to ensure Africa holds a central voice in global conversations on minerals policy and energy investment, rather than remaining primarily a supplier of raw materials to markets where value addition occurs elsewhere.
