The initiative which aims to empower Africans to take an active and equitable role in harnessing their vast mineral wealth, stemmed from the collaborative efforts of Core International, Motimose Metals, Africa Minerals Strategy Group and Allied Trust Asset Management.
In his speech, the appointed Managing Director of the Africans for Africa Initiative, Mr. Tim Tokun, challenged the prevailing myths about resource consumption and highlighted Africa’s immense potential.
He emphasized that despite claims of the global North “getting more from less” in terms of material consumption, global extraction of resources continues to accelerate.
According to Tokun, in 2021,more materials were mined from the earth than the sum total extracted from the dawn of humanity through to 1950.
He stated that these staggering statistics underscores the enduring importance of mining, as the bedrock of civilization, with Africa proudly hosting 35%of all global mineral resources.
In his words “For too long, African nations and communities have primarily benefited from resource rent, a model that often fails to trickle down to the grassroots.
The MD noted that the AfA Fund seeks to fundamentally decouple from these traditional economic structures, which have historically favoured the global North.
He passionately articulated that true sovereignty extends beyond flags and football teams to energy sovereignty and mineral sovereignty.
Tokun highlighted three critical objectives of the Fund:
. Create wealth for a meaningful magnitude of Africans from African resources
. Gain respectable parity alongside foreign exploration and mining companies
. Facilitate a visible uplifting of frontline communities, who are the indigenous landlords of these mineral resources and hold the social licence to operate.
Adding that an advent of renewable energy has ushered in a new wave of “unsexy” but now critical metals like graphite, cobalt and manganese, unlike gold and diamonds which once dominated interest but have shifted in global demands for metals.
He said these minerals are now staples in battery chemistries, making Africa’s abundant reserves even more vital to the global energy transformation.
Speaking also at the launching ceremony, Mr. Suleiman Zakari, Co-founder of AfA Initiative, disclosed that the AfA Fund aimed to address the projected 2.1Trillion Dollars funding shortfall in the mining industry by 2050.
Zakari added that the need for 61 new copper mines and energy transformation requirements by 2050, underscores the urgency for innovative financing models.
