Nigeria Leads Africa’s Bold Push For Raw Materials Revolution
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
The need for Africa to stop exporting raw materials only to import finished products, losing jobs, industrial opportunities and wealth in the process has been stressed.
Nigeria’s Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Dr Tochukwu Udeh, gave the indication while declaring open a two-day Summit on African Raw materials in Abuja
The summit, tagged from African Feedstock to African factory brought together stakeholders on raw material value chain from across the continent to brainstorm on how to change the narrative.
Udeh urged African countries to set realistic value-addition targets, establish mechanisms to track progress and ensure summit resolutions translate into measurable industrial outcomes.
The Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and convener of the summit Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, said commodities such as cocoa, cashew and sesame seeds could generate greater economic returns if processed locally rather than exported in their raw forms.
He proposed a continental value-addition compact, an industrial investment pipeline, a shared raw materials intelligence platform, regional value chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and stronger partnerships between researchers and industries.
The Senate committee chairman on science and technology, Senator Aminu Iya Abbas, on his part, said the Senate is expediting action on the thirty percent value addition bill to make life easier for the citizenry
Uche Nwachukwu of the Bank of Industry said food and beverage companies in the bank’s portfolio had reduced raw material imports by 67%, highlighting the potential of local sourcing to strengthen domestic industries.
He called for long-term financing to move research and business ideas into factories, urging collaboration among government, businesses, research institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises and financial institutions.
The summit, seeks to strengthen the continent’s capacity to transform its natural resources into industrial growth hence the call on African leaders to move beyond declarations and secure concrete investments and industrial partnerships that will create jobs and retain more wealth within the continent.
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