As global demand for critical minerals like cobalt, lithium, and rare earths surges, securing resilient and diversified supply chains has become a top economic and geopolitical priority for Washington. In East Africa, United States policy is shifting toward direct off-take agreements, strategic development finance, and regional infrastructure investments to mitigate reliance on foreign competitors. To break down how these trade frameworks, local processing initiatives, and geopolitical risks intersect across the East African Community, CNBC Africa is joined by Declan Galvin, Managing Director at Exigent Risk Advisory.
Tue, 21 Jul 2026 11:11:16 GMT
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Key Points:
- The United States is treating critical minerals in East Africa as a national security priority and is pursuing more direct supply and investment arrangements.
- Kenya’s Mrima Hill niobium deposit and the DRC’s rare earth and battery mineral reserves are among the assets attracting heightened U.S. attention.
- The emerging U.S. approach places greater emphasis on beneficiation and local participation in the value chain rather than raw extraction alone.
- Declan Galvin said existing frameworks such as AGOA are outdated for the current geopolitical environment and need to be updated.
- He said East African countries will need stronger industrial policy, sovereign guarantees, financing capacity and ease-of-doing-business reforms to attract long-term capital.
Topics
U.S. critical mineralsEast AfricaKenya niobiumDRC rare earthsAGOAsupply chainsnational securitycritical mineralsExigent Risk AdvisoryCNBC Africa
- The United States is increasingly approaching East Africa’s critical minerals through a national security lens, with greater focus on direct off-take agreements, infrastructure corridors and strategic investment.
- Kenya’s niobium deposit at Mrima Hill and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s reserves of rare earths and battery minerals are emerging as key areas of U.S. interest, according to Exigent Risk Advisory Managing Director Declan Galvin.
- Galvin said legacy trade frameworks such as AGOA and the U.S.-EAC Trade and Investment Framework are not sufficient on their own to capture the opportunities and risks created by today’s geopolitical competition.
- He said East African governments will need clearer industrial policy, stronger investor protections and better financing structures if they want to convert mineral demand into local processing, jobs and long-term economic gains.
The United States is stepping up its push into East Africa’s critical minerals sector as Washington seeks to secure supply chains for rare earths, battery metals and other strategic rerities rather than trade alone
That shift is showing up in a more deliberate U.S. approach to direct off-take agreements, mining partnerships, strategic development finance and infrastructure investment across the region, Declan Galvin, managing director at Exigent Risk Advisory, said in a CNBC Africa interview.
“What’s really important is to recognize that there has been a policy shift in the United States with how it’s dealing with critical reng viewed “through a strategic and national security lens,” with that priority feeding into U.S. foreign policy in Africa
The policy evolution comes as the U.S. and its allies look to reduce dependence on concentrated supply chains for minerals used in electric vehicle batteries, consumer electronics and next-generation defense systems. East Africa, with a mix of known deposits and underexplored reserves, is increasingly being viewed as part of that diversification strategy.
Galvin said Washington is now showing “more intentionality” in trying to strike deals around critical reining. He said the U.S. is actively looking for opportunities in African states where mineral re
Among the opportunities drawing attention is Kenya’s niobium deposit at Mrima Hill, which Galvin described as one of the most significant such deposits globally. He said the asset stands out not only for its scale, but also because it is located in a country where the U.S. has long maintained strong trade and diplomatic ties.
He also pointed to the Democratic Republic of Congo, now a member of the East African Community, as another major focus. The DRC holds substantial reserves of rare earths and other minerals used in batteries, advanced defense technology and consumer electronics.
Galvin said U.S. engagement with both Kenya and the DRC is increasingly extending beyond simple extraction. Instead, discussions are putting greater emphasis on beneficiation, local investment and keeping more of the value chain inside African economies.
That marks a potentially important change in the structure of future reen associated with extraction atcaptured by producer countries
Galvin said the current U.S. approach could offer a different model if negotiations with sovereign governments incorporate local priorities, anxieties and long-term development goals. “What is different this time is you have the United States negotiating directly with sovereign nations and incorporating priorities, anxieties, opportunities into those talks to make sure that there’s ultimately sustainability and integration with African economies in the value chain,” he said.
Still, he cautioned that local processing is not a simple policy slogan. The bigger commercial question, he said, is where those minerals can be most efficiently turned into finished products and whether processing in Africa is economically competitive across all stages of the chain.
“There’s definitely an element where the United States is looking to be a major offtaker of these re talks with the Congolese government and the Kenyan bidding process around the niobium deposit
The broader geopolitical backdrop is also shaping the opportunity set for East African states. China has spent years building a dominant position across parts of Africa’s mining landscape and global mineral processing chain, leaving Western governments looking for alternative supply routes and partnership models.
Galvin said that competition could strengthen Africa’s bargaining power at a time of unusually large geopolitical change. He described the current period as a historic opening for African governments to shape outcomes more forcefully than at any point since independence.
According to Galvin, the key test for Washington will be whether it can offer a value proposition that goes beyond simply securing raw material supply. He said successful deals will need to include local processing, employment creation and stronger industrial spillovers if they are to stand apart from previous re
“These business deals will ultimately need to provide beneficiation, more local processing, greater employment dividends for these countries,” he said. He argued that this may create an opening for African states because the U.S. and some Western partners do not have the same entrenched overseas processing model that has traditionally concentrated value addition elsewhere.
Galvin said that opportunity will only be realized if East African governments move quickly to develop stronger domestic frameworks. In his view, that means clearer industrial policies, more attractive financing structures, easier pathways for investors to do business and sovereign guarantees that can support long-term project development.
Existing trade arrangements, he said, are not enough on their own. Asked whether the U.S.-EAC Trade and Investment Framework and the African Growth and Opportunity Act can secure the long-term gains on offer, Galvin gave a blunt assessment.
“In short, the answer to that question is no,” he said.
Galvin said AGOA, introduced in 2000, reflected an earlier era of policymaking and now needs to be updated for a far more competitive geopolitical and industrial environment. He said the framework still has value, but argued it should be reworked to reflect economic realities that did not exist more than two decades ago.
He said Washington is partly addressing that gap by leaning more heavily on institutions such as the Department of Defense and Department of Energy to identify strategic mineral opportunities and support investment. That approach, he said, gives the U.S. more flexibility to treat critical minerals as national priorities and mobilize funding vehicles for the sector.
For East African economies, the next step is likely to be less about rhetoric and more about execution. Countries including Kenya, Uganda and the DRC, Galvin said, will need to show that they are ready to absorb large-scale investment and operate as durable long-term partners.
That will require alignment between African industrial strategy and a clearer U.S. policy on how partner countries can be integrated into mineral value chains. With demand for critical minerals rising and geopolitical rivalry reshaping supply routes, East Africa’s leverage may be growing — but turning that leverage into processing capacity, jobs and fiscal gains will depend on how quickly both sides move from intent to implementation.
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