Pan-Africa In The Semiconductor Value Chain: From "Great Zimbabwe" To Modern Kinshasa-A Trail Is Blazed

Africa’s participation in the global semiconductor ecosystem has, until recently, been on the periphery—characterized by its extraction of strategic raw materials rather than advanced value focused technological finished product. This role, while relevant, has largely kept African jurisdictions outside the high-value segments of the semiconductor supply ecosphere. However, amid a dynamic global context up-ended by geopolitical tensions, pandemic-era disruptions(Covid 19), and strategic reshoring incentives like the U.S. CHIPS Act , Africa’s role is under reconsideration.