Industrial Development in Africa
Senior 3 · Geography
Industrial Development in Africa
Lesson 1 of 4
30 min
Let's begin
On the green slopes of Nyabihu, pickers fill baskets with the top leaves of tea bushes. Within hours the leaf is at the Nyabihu tea factory, where it is withered, rolled, dried and packed. The sacks then travel by lorry to Mombasa or to shops in Kigali, and the money passes through banks and traders before it reaches the farmers. One cup of tea involves three different kinds of work. How do geographers classify industries, and where are Africa's great industrial areas?
Definition
Industry: any organised economic activity that produces goods or services. Primary industry: taking raw materials directly from nature, such as farming, fishing, forestry and mining. Secondary industry (manufacturing): turning raw materials into finished or semi-finished goods, such as making tea, cement or cars. Tertiary industry: providing services, such as transport, trade, banking, health and education. Quaternary industry: services based on knowledge and information, such as research and software.
| Type | Meaning | African examples |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy industry | Uses bulky raw materials and large plants to make heavy goods | Iron and steel at Vanderbijlpark (South Africa) and Helwan (Egypt); cement |
| Light industry | Makes small, light goods, often for consumers | Clothing, shoes, electronics assembly |
| Processing (agro-based) industry | Processes farm, forest or fish products | Tea and coffee factories in Rwanda; sugar mills; fish canning in Morocco |
| Assembly industry | Puts together parts made elsewhere | Car assembly in Gqeberha and Durban; phone assembly in Kigali |
| Import-substitution industry | Makes at home goods that were once imported | Cement, soap, plastics and textiles made locally |
| Cottage (craft) industry | Small-scale work at home with simple tools | Basket weaving, pottery, tailoring, woodcarving |
Definition
Heavy industry: industry that uses large amounts of bulky raw materials and energy, such as steel making. Light industry: industry making small, light goods, often close to the market. Agro-based industry: industry that processes agricultural products. Import substitution: producing at home goods that were previously imported. Industrial region: an area where many industries are concentrated.
South Africa is the most industrialised country in Africa. Its industry is concentrated in four regions (Figure 1).
| Region | Main towns | Main industries |
|---|---|---|
| Gauteng (formerly the PWV: Pretoria–Witwatersrand–Vereeniging) | Johannesburg, Pretoria (Tshwane), Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark | Iron and steel, engineering, mining equipment, chemicals, food, vehicles, banking and head offices |
| Durban–Pinetown | Durban, Pinetown, Richards Bay nearby | Port industries, oil refining, chemicals, car assembly, sugar milling, textiles |
| Cape Town area (Western Cape) | Cape Town, Paarl, Stellenbosch | Food and fish processing, wine, clothing and textiles, port industries |
| Nelson Mandela Bay | Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Kariega (Uitenhage) | Car assembly and car parts |
North Africa's largest industrial belt runs along the Nile in Egypt, where water, power from the Aswan High Dam, cotton and a large population are found together. Its main centres are Cairo and Helwan (steel, cement, textiles, food, vehicles), Alexandria (port industries, oil refining, petrochemicals, textiles), Mahalla el-Kubra in the Delta (cotton textiles), and Nag Hammadi and Aswan in Upper Egypt (aluminium and fertiliser using hydroelectric power). You will study Egypt in detail in Lesson 3.
In Rwanda, industry produced 22% of GDP in 2025, compared with 52% from services and 20% from agriculture (NISR). Within manufacturing, the production of cement and other non-metallic minerals grew by 35% that year.
Worked example
Worked example 1: industry's share of Rwanda's GDP. In 2025 Rwanda's GDP at current prices was Frw 23,387 billion, and industry contributed 22% (NISR). What was the value of industry's contribution?
Worked example
Worked example 2: value added in processing (illustrative figures). About 4.5 kg of green tea leaf makes 1 kg of made tea. If a factory pays 300 Frw per kg of green leaf and sells made tea at 2,400 Frw per kg, how much value does it add per kilogram of made tea, before its other costs?
Warning
Mining is primary, smelting is secondary. Digging copper ore out of the ground is a primary industry; turning the ore into copper metal in a smelter is a secondary industry. Classify the activity, not the product.
Tip
To classify any job, ask: does it take from nature (primary), make something (secondary), serve people (tertiary) or create knowledge (quaternary)?
iNewittAll: the four types of industry explained simply. As you watch, think of one Rwandan example for each type.
Practice
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
