MENA & Sub-Saharan Africa

Solar Supply Chain Map 2025

August 2025

• The Middle East region and continent of Africa seem to be keen to be key players in solar energy in Africa and the wider solar PV supply chain, by taking it big and providing full vertical integration. A smart approach and lesson learnt by challenges in Europe, India and North America which do not yet have enough or any local supply of polysilicon, wafer, cell production capacity. As the region is in close proximity to the European and Sub-Saharan African markets it could potentially meet the growing demand for solar energy locally and neighboring regions at this rate. Making the region well positioned as a likely replacement for South East Asia as an exporter for PV modules (see our Sinovoltaics South East Asia Solar Supply Chain Map for more insights). Depending on the US tariffs, the region may even be a likely candidate for export if tariffs remain at 10%, though the 30% tariff on South Africa may provide a challenge.
  
• The manufacturing growth is largely spurred by government support and local content requirements, but challenges remain. Those challenges being grid infrastructure and supply chain disruptions. Though these developments could help in reducing the dependence on foreign suppliers, the lion's share of the manufacturing capacity would be Chinese. Strengthening supply chain traceability could help mitigate such risks while reducing dependence on foreign suppliers. Nonetheless, the investments and goals are fantastic as it will create jobs and help the region in its clean energy transition while divesting from fossil fuel alternatives.
  
  
• All in all, according to the latest press releases; 2030 could see 62.12 GW of solar panel manufacturers, 52.55 GW of cell production, 45 GW of polysilicon and 290,000 tons of MG-si coming from these two regions.

For more detailed PV insights and analysis of the India solar market, including emerging trends and future projections, refer to the full Sinovoltaics Solar Supply Chain Map report.

If your solar manufacturing project isn't listed or has been updated, please reach out to us at contact@sinovoltaics.com to have your details listed and share your latest developments. We'll include them in our next release.