I would personally say that the abundance of raw materials in Africa, like oil, ivory, rubber, palm oil, wood, cotton and gum is what Africa possessed and Europe didn't. While the European countries didn't necessarily not have the materials, North Africa had an abundance of them. What pushed the European countries to colonize North Africa was due to the countries' being in an economic depression and the emergence of the Industrial revolution. One final thing is that Britain and France were locked into a rivalry after the 100 years war, which opened up competition between not only these countries, but the rest of Europe as well.
Sorry if the answer is a little long and confusing, but I hope this helped either way! Feel free to message me if you need more help or have any questions! (: