Why It Matters

The Challenge We Face

Corrosion is the gradual degradation of materials through chemical and electrochemical interaction with their environment. It is silent, relentless, and extraordinarily expensive — yet it remains one of the most underappreciated engineering challenges across Africa.

Every bridge, pipeline, storage tank, port, and power plant is fighting a continuous battle against corrosion. When it is poorly managed, the consequences range from costly maintenance shutdowns to catastrophic structural failures with loss of life.

The knowledge, tools, and professionals needed to win this battle exist — and this is the mission of C2S.

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Annual global cost of corrosion — more than natural disasters, fire, and theft combined
· NACE IMPACT Study
Infrastructure at Risk
Bridges, pipelines, storage tanks, ports, industrial facilities, power plants, and transportation networks continuously deteriorate due to corrosion.
Economic Impact
Corrosion costs the global economy trillions of dollars annually through maintenance, repairs, downtime, and asset replacement — a burden borne disproportionately by developing nations.
Growing Skills Gap
Many engineering graduates complete their education without exposure to corrosion engineering, despite the growing demand for specialists across African industry.
National Development
As African nations invest in infrastructure, the need for corrosion professionals and asset integrity specialists becomes increasingly critical to long-term economic resilience.

Corrosion by the Numbers

Data sourced directly from the NACE International IMPACT Study (DNV GL, 2015)

Global Cost of Corrosion by Region (% of GDP)

Global Sector Breakdown ($2.5 Trillion Total)

Historical National Corrosion Costs (% of GDP)