The Hidden Cost of the Future

How does your future look? – Special Edition 2026

Dear Impossible Readers,

While I enjoy discussing eccentric future technological ideas, it is equally important to examine the other side of the coin. To be clear, this piece aims to be a statement rather than a provocation. The typical hierarchy reveals two things. First, there is someone at the very top of the food chain. And second, there is a massive, broad base that supports everyone else.

Africa provides the raw materials that enable our high-tech world, yet the continent receives only a small share of the value. Cobalt is essential for nearly every smartphone and electric vehicle battery. The Democratic Republic of Congo holds about 70% of the world’s reserves but gains only 1–3% of the total global value chain. The same applies to coltan, lithium, and platinum group metals. Africa supplies the foundation, but most of the wealth from refining, processing, and manufacturing flows abroad.

The imbalance for other commodities is equally striking. Cocoa and coffee create global markets worth tens of billions each year, yet less than 10% of the final value remains in the producing countries. Gold, diamonds, and platinum often see only 10–15% of their market value stay on the continent, despite these resources being crucial to the luxury, industrial, and electronics sectors.

Suppose Africa claims a share based on contribution and necessity, considering environmental costs, labour, and global reliance on its resources. In that case, estimates indicate it could control 15–20% of the value chain for high-tech metals and 20–30% for essential agricultural commodities. This is roughly five to ten times what is currently realised, translating into billions of dollars annually that could fund education, infrastructure, and technological development across the continent.

The figures reveal more than just economics. They shed light on the hidden cost of progress. Every device, every battery, every screen that fuels the dreams of the future carries an unseen debt. A wealth quietly extracted from African soil, labour, and potential. And within this lies the quiet revolution waiting to emerge: the shift from extraction to empowerment.

The hidden cost of the future is not unavoidable. It becomes apparent when we follow the flow of materials and wealth from African mines to the devices we hold in our hands. It also indicates a different kind of future. One where Africa shifts from being a supplier of raw materials to a centre of innovation and production. Local refineries, battery factories, and technology hubs could turn what is now mere extraction into lasting development.

This is not a revolution of barricades, muskets, or sudden upheaval. It is a systemic revolution: a shift in global trade, investment, and production rules that recognises Africa’s rightful stake in the technologies of tomorrow. The AfCFTA, regional industrial initiatives, and investments in local high-tech infrastructure are early sparks of this change, as they claim a fairer share of value and build the capacity to transform resources into knowledge and products.

Imagine a world where the cobalt powering a battery benefits the community that mines it, where the gold in a circuit funds schools, and where the minerals beneath African soil become the foundation for African-made innovation. This vision is ambitious but also realistic. It demands courage to overhaul systems that have long externalised costs and concentrated profits elsewhere.

The technologies we envision hold a record of human choices, values, and injustices. Recognising the hidden cost of the future is the first step towards creating a shared, equitable one that reflects the contributions of all who make it possible.

Progress without fairness is extraction,
Yours Possibly

The Hidden Cost of the Future

How does your future look? – Special Edition 2026

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