Monopolies usually draw suspicion. 

In the DRC, which produces over 70% of the world’s cobalt, one state company holds the exclusive right to buy, process, and export the artisanal share of it. 

Eric Kalala, CEO of Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC), makes the case that this structure allows the DRC to enforce responsible standards in a sector that, across all commodities, supports around two million people by his count. 

In Episode 2 of Critical Supply, Eric joins Dalberg’s Jeffrey Berger and Shyam Sundaram to cover: 

• How EGC sets standards from day one at new sites and works step by step at sites already operating
• Whether local banks and international financiers are ready to back cooperatives
• EGC’s May MOU with EVelution Energy and Trafigura, which includes plans to explore an EGC minority stake in a planned U.S. cobalt refinery

Listen now: Spotify | Apple | YouTube

About Critical Supply 

Critical minerals are central to the energy transition and advanced technologies. While the geopolitical dynamics and environmental and social challenges of critical mineral mining frequently make headlines, we rarely hear about the companies, civil society leaders, and policymakers that are doing the hard work of making supply chains equitable and sustainable.  

In each episode, hosts Shyam Sundaram, Partner, and Jeffrey Berger, Principal, Dalberg Advisors, take one mine, community, company, or deal as a starting point and ask what it reveals about the sector as a whole. They focus on where real progress is taking place, what made it possible, and what’s still hard.