RMRDC targets industrial growth via Africa Raw Materials Summit

The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) has announced the 2026 Africa Raw Materials Summit (ARMS), scheduled for October 19–20 in Abuja. Under the theme ‘From African Feedstock to African Factories’, the summit aims to transition the continent from a ‘pit-to-port’ economic model toward domestic industrialization and value addition.

Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, Director-General of the RMRDC, noted that while Africa holds over 40 per cent of the world’s mineral resources, it currently captures less than 15 per cent of their value. The summit seeks to align policy, capital, and technology to ensure resources are processed on African soil to drive employment and prosperity.

A key component of this initiative is the proposed Raw Materials 30% Mandatory Value Addition Bill, which is currently awaiting presidential assent in Nigeria. The RMRDC estimates that requiring 30 per cent value addition on raw materials before export could create more than 1.2 million skilled jobs within five years. The legislation is intended to strengthen foreign reserves and support import substitution by shifting the economy from unprocessed commodity exports to domestic manufacturing.