By ABAH ADAH, Abuja
Fourth African Natural Resources and Energy Summit, AFNIS, will focus on empowering Africans to own and dominate their mining fields through sustainable investments for homegrown development across the continent.
It will also address the financing and other challenges bedeviling the investment and growth of local entrepreneurs in the mining industry.
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Dele Alake disclosed this at a pre-event press briefing on Tuesday in Abuja.
Dr Alake, who described the theme “Harnessing Local Content for Sustainable Development “ as apt, said it is time for Africa’s abundant resources to translate into measurable products through value addition.
“Our theme this year encourages serious rethink about how Africa can shift from exporting raw materials and instead build factories, refine minerals, generate power locally and create jobs at home.
This summit is about building value where the resources come from,” he said.
The minister, who was represented by the Director-General of Mining Cadastre Office, Obadiah Nkom, listed some of the key areas of focus to include Local Industrialisation, Energy Transition, Cross-Sector Integration, Policy and Financing.
He explained that the summit would witness the formal launching of ‘Africans for Africa ‘ Fund, aimed at mobilising and prioritising capital for African interests.
This, he said, is to make effective, the “Africa for Africa” initiative, which was unveiled at the 2024 Summit to encourage local participation in the region.
“One of the major highlights of this year’s edition will be the formal launch of the Africans for Africa Fund, a bold initiative designed to mobilise African capital for African priorities. This is not a slogan. It is a shift in mindset. We are saying clearly: the time has come for Africans to invest in Africa, to back our industries, our innovations and our infrastructure with the resources we already have.”
For Nigeria, the minister said the summit would provide an opportunity to showcase the progress so far in the solid minerals sector, especially as it concerns the seven-point agenda, which he unveiled about a year ago.
He also recalled that the summit since its inception in 2022 as the Nigeria-Africa Natural Resource and Energy Investment Summit, NAFNIS, AFNIS has recorded significant growth in ambition and impact, as the maiden edition laid the foundation with strong emphasis on climate-friendly industrialisation, responsible mining and sustainable financing.
It brought together, over 700 delegates and more than 100 speakers from 20 countries, igniting a continental conversation on how to responsibly harness Africa’s natural resource endowments, according to him.
“By the second edition in 2023, the summit had gained continental traction, attracted high-level participation and set the tone for a unified African position on local beneficiation, energy transition and regional cooperation.
“The 2024 summit marked a turning point. It was not only graced by the vice president of Nigeria, representing the president, but also served as the launchpad for the “Africans for Africa” initiative; an idea that resonated across governments, private sector leaders and development institutions. That edition featured over 1,000 stakeholders, showcased technology solutions and facilitated concrete investment commitments.
“It also reaffirmed the strategic role of Nigeria as a thought leader and convener in the continent’s extractive sector dialogue.
“Building on these milestones, AFNIS 2025 is positioned to scale new heights, move beyond advocacy to implementation and from policy conversations to bankable action,” he said.
Speakers at the summit include Hassan Joho of Kenya; Julius Mattai of Sierra Leone; and Ms Damilola Ogunbiyi.
Others are ministers from Malawi, Liberia, Senegal, South Sudan, and many others who are respected across sectors and borders.
Alake is the host and Chair of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group and his fellow ministers and partners across the continent will be in attendance.
