Africa is little question a land of immense human and pure sources. It ought to, or might, have been a worldwide energy in industrialisation by including worth to its huge uncooked supplies by way of processing them into completed items.
However, the present state of Africa’s industrialisation shouldn’t be encouraging information, because the continent stays caught in a captive mentality, exporting its unprocessed uncooked supplies to different components of the world on account of a scarcity of capability for worth addition, which is critical to create jobs and diversify the continent’s economies.
The Nigerian authorities, by way of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), is constructing consultants’ capability to develop abilities that may remodel the continent’s uncooked supplies by way of large funding in indigenous expertise.
Nigeria demonstrated this management through the just-concluded second version of the African Raw Materials Summit (ARMS, 2026) in Abuja, with the theme “From African Feedstock to African Factories,” which drew authorities officers, business consultants, and growth companions.
At the centre of this transfer is the necessity for stronger insurance policies, funding, analysis and regional cooperation to remodel Africa’s pure sources into completed merchandise.
Nigeria has taken a big step on this path with a proposed invoice requiring a minimal of 30 per cent worth addition to uncooked supplies earlier than export, which is awaiting President Bola Tinubu’s assent following a evaluation by the Ministry of Justice and additional legislative motion. The proposed laws was a part of efforts to assist the President’s ambition of rising Nigeria’s economic system to 1 trillion {dollars}.
Speaking through the momentous event, Nigeria’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, mentioned that native processing and the commercialisation of analysis and innovation had been vital to attaining the goal.
“Because if we spend the whole of the day talking, it will still not address the challenges or proceed to action that we need to address the challenges,” the minister mentioned, at the same time as he admonished stakeholders to prioritise implementation.
Udeh additionally disclosed that the Federal Executive Council had accepted the institution of a National Research and Innovation Development Fund, with the related invoice earlier than the National Assembly.
To be certain that the summit produced measurable outcomes, the minister known as for a evaluation of commitments made on the first version, the institution of nationwide and continental value-addition targets, an energetic summit secretariat, and sustained engagement amongst governments, researchers, producers and buyers.
“Please let there be no third African Raw Materials Summit if we do not collate all the things that we have said that we ought to do, all the calls to action,” he suggested.
The Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Professor Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, mentioned the period of African international locations exporting unprocessed sources whereas importing completed merchandise needs to be over.
He mentioned, “We dug the cobalt, but imported the batteries. We harvested 69% of the world’s cocoa, but imported the chocolates. We mined the lithium, but bought back the electric vehicles, we exported our soil’s riches, and with them, we exported our jobs, our wealth, and the dreams of our youth.”
He proposed 5 motion areas: a continental uncooked supplies value-addition compact, an industrial funding pipeline, a uncooked supplies intelligence platform, regional worth chains linked to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and partnerships to switch African analysis and expertise into native industries.
The RMRDC boss additionally highlighted the council’s work on domestically tailored processing equipment and the Nigerian Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISRAM), designed to map uncooked materials deposits, processing capability and manufacturing demand, at the same time as he known as on stakeholders to give attention to concrete industrial agreements.
“The world is waiting to see what Africa will do with its vast riches. And the answer must come from us, right here, right now,” he mentioned.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Senator Aminu Abbas, assured that the proposed 30% value-addition invoice could be handed throughout the subsequent two to a few weeks.
He expressed optimism that processing uncooked supplies domestically would create employment alternatives throughout manufacturing and associated industries.
“You can imagine the number of employees if you process 30 per cent of all our raw materials within Africa,” he mentioned.
Representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ambassador Philbert Johnson, warned that Africa’s dependence on unprocessed raw-material exports will proceed to hinder its industrial growth until the continent adjustments the state of affairs.
“The challenge before us is clear, Africa must move from exporting raw materials to producing value-added goods,” Johnson mentioned.
He famous that UNIDO was supporting Nigeria’s industrial growth by way of its Programme for Country Partnership, together with technical help for agricultural and mineral worth chains.
Johnson urged members to develop sensible suggestions to deal with infrastructure gaps, expertise constraints, financing, and coverage implementation.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, Professor Olusegun Ige, known as for stronger collaboration between the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and different ministries that rely upon mineral sources.
“Before we start the processing, we need to know where these things are. Then we need to bring them out onto the surface. Then we began to ask for a processing method,” he mentioned.
In his remarks, Sudan’s Minister of Minerals, Professor Nour Al-Daem Taha, known as for cooperation to curb mineral smuggling and strengthen coaching, expertise switch, and workforce growth.
“We need Africa to work together, to cooperate, and to share all our knowledge and business for our people and our continent,” he mentioned.
We hope the summit doesn’t finish within the massive halls and convention centres, however as an alternative turns into a discussion board for brand spanking new pondering that creates a permanent system to strengthen partnerships by way of accomplished tasks.
Africa’s pure useful resource wealth should ship larger financial advantages by way of funding, expertise, infrastructure, analysis and constant coverage implementation to attain this purpose. This additionally requires dependable infrastructure, workforce growth, regional commerce partnerships and funding in agricultural and mineral worth chains.
Africa additionally must strengthen useful resource effectivity, develop recycling expertise and using industrial by-products and biomass in new manufacturing processes.
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