Omanghana
Tim Cook ended his 15-year tenure as Apple’s chief executive on September 1, 2026, handing leadership of the technology giant to former Hardware Engineering chief John Ternus.
Cook has not left the company entirely. He has transitioned to the newly created position of executive chairman, allowing him to retain influence over Apple’s broader strategy and relationships with governments and regulators. The leadership change was unanimously approved by Apple’s board as part of a long-term succession plan. Apple confirmed the transition in April 2026.
The handover closes a remarkable chapter in Apple’s history. When Cook succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011, the company was valued at roughly $350 billion. By his final day as CEO, its market capitalization had climbed to approximately $4.6 trillion, making it one of the world’s most valuable companies.
Cook’s legacy is closely associated with supply-chain efficiency, global manufacturing expansion and extraordinary shareholder returns. However, his departure has also revived questions about Apple’s limited direct investment in Africa, a continent historically connected to the global mineral supply chains supporting electronics production.
Africa’s Place in the Technology Supply Chain
Modern electronic devices require materials such as tantalum, tin, tungsten, gold and cobalt. African countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo and states in the Great Lakes region, have played a major role in supplying several of these minerals to global markets.
Tantalum is used in capacitors, tin in solder, tungsten in vibration components and gold in connectors and circuit boards. Cobalt has traditionally been a significant ingredient in the lithium-ion batteries that power smartphones, tablets, laptops and other portable devices.
The DRC remains the world’s dominant producer of newly mined cobalt. However, the connection between an individual Apple device and a particular African mine can be difficult to establish because minerals often pass through several traders, refiners, smelters and component manufacturers before entering the final supply chain.
Apple requires identified smelters and refiners handling cobalt, lithium, tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold to participate in third-party audits. The company has also increased its use of recycled materials, weakening the argument that its newest products depend entirely on newly mined African resources.
For example, Apple reports that the iPhone 17 uses recycled cobalt in its battery, recycled tungsten in its Taptic Engine, and recycled gold and tin in Apple-designed circuit boards. Apple’s environmental report says it has reached its recycled-material targets for several selected components and applications.
Despite that progress, African economic-policy advocates argue that the underlying development challenge remains. Much of the continent’s mineral wealth is exported in raw or partly processed form, while the more profitable stages—refining, component production, product design, assembly, software development and retail—are concentrated elsewhere.
Massive Investments Outside Africa
Under Cook’s leadership, Apple committed enormous resources to manufacturing, research, digital infrastructure and workforce development in North America, Asia, Europe and parts of Latin America and the Middle East.
In the United States, the company pledged to spend and invest $600 billion over four years. The commitment covers domestic manufacturing, artificial intelligence infrastructure, silicon engineering, advanced components and supplier expansion.
Apple also helped develop extensive manufacturing and assembly networks in China before expanding production capacity in India and Vietnam. Elsewhere, it established developer academies, technology centers and other training initiatives intended to strengthen local digital ecosystems.
Africa, by comparison, received no investment on a similar scale during Cook’s tenure.
No Company-Owned Apple Store in Africa
Apple operates more than 500 company-owned retail stores worldwide, but its official global store list still shows no Apple-owned outlet in Africa.
Customers across the continent generally purchase Apple products through telecommunications companies, independent retailers and authorized resellers such as iStore. These businesses may provide important sales and support services, but they are not owned or operated by Apple.
The reseller-based model can affect product prices, trade-in availability, repair options and access to the complete in-store experience offered in markets where Apple maintains its own retail network.
The absence is particularly striking in major commercial centers such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Lagos, Nairobi, Cairo, Casablanca and Accra, where demand for premium smartphones and digital services continues to grow.
Apple Services Remain Unevenly Available
Apple’s services division became one of its most important businesses under Cook, generating more than $100 billion in annual revenue.
Access across Africa, however, remains inconsistent. Although customers in several countries can use services including the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud and Apple TV, other products are either unavailable or operate with limited features.
Apple Pay, localized pricing, direct trade-in programs, comprehensive repair coverage and some subscription services remain absent or restricted in many African markets. Payment limitations and the continued use of foreign-currency pricing can also make applications and subscriptions more expensive for local consumers.
Developers face related challenges. Africa has a rapidly expanding community of programmers and technology entrepreneurs, but the continent has yet to receive the same extensive Apple Developer Academy infrastructure established in countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Italy, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the United States.
Philanthropy Has Not Become Industrial Investment
Apple has supported environmental, educational and community initiatives in parts of Africa. These have included renewable-energy projects, vocational programs and conservation partnerships.
Such interventions may generate meaningful local benefits, but they are substantially different from investments in factories, data centers, research facilities, regional offices or company-owned retail operations.
Critics therefore describe Apple’s African engagement as being weighted more toward corporate social responsibility than long-term capital formation. They argue that a company of Apple’s size could make a greater contribution by supporting mineral processing, device refurbishment, software education, renewable-powered data infrastructure and local developer programs.
Apple’s Growth Under Tim Cook
| Metric | 2011 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Market capitalization | About $350 billion | About $4.6 trillion |
| Annual revenue | $108 billion | More than $416 billion |
| Annual net income | About $26 billion | More than $110 billion |
| Services revenue | Relatively limited | More than $100 billion |
| Active installed base | Fewer than 300 million devices | More than 2.5 billion devices |
| Company-owned Apple Stores in Africa | 0 | 0 |
The figures illustrate the scale of Apple’s transformation during Cook’s tenure. The company moved beyond its dependence on periodic hardware sales and built an enormous ecosystem combining devices, digital payments, cloud storage, entertainment and software subscriptions.
John Ternus Faces a Strategic Choice
John Ternus assumes control of Apple at a complicated moment. The company faces regulatory pressure in the United States and Europe, intensifying competition in artificial intelligence and continued geopolitical risks surrounding its international manufacturing network.
Resource-producing countries are also demanding greater local processing and industrial participation rather than remaining exporters of raw materials. This debate is becoming increasingly relevant as governments compete for a larger share of the economic value created by critical minerals.
Africa’s young population, growing connectivity and expanding developer community offer Apple a potentially important long-term market. However, fully pursuing that opportunity would require deeper engagement than selling devices through third-party distributors.
Ternus must now decide whether Apple will maintain its historically limited physical presence or establish company-owned stores, developer academies, regional technical facilities and other long-term investments across the continent.
Cook leaves behind one of the most financially successful records in corporate history. The unanswered question for his successor is whether Apple’s next era will extend that success to regions that have long contributed to global technology supply chains but captured relatively little of their value.
Source: Omanghana
