The minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, said the federal government is crafting forward-looking policies, deploying digital tools, traceability infrastructure and research-to-industry pathways to ensure Africa moves from extraction to transformation—from potential to prosperity, under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Speaking during the opening ceremony of a 3-day Africa Raw Materials Summit 2025, in Abuja, with the theme “Shaping the Future of Africa’s Resource Landscape”, the minister said, for too long, Nigeria and other Africa countries have exported raw materials and imported dependencies, noting that there is need for the continent to accelerate value addition across Africa’s raw materials sector and to strengthen industrial resilience and economic sovereignty.
He said value addition is no longer aspirational but imperative, stating that it bridges poverty and prosperity, the path to youth empowerment, SME growth and global competitiveness.
He said, “As minister of innovation, science and technology, I have the distinct privilege of overseeing Nigeria’s national innovation ecosystem, driving our agenda for industrial development, digital transformation, clean energy integration and technology-enabled governance. It is within these mandates that the mission for this summit was conveyed, a platform to accelerate value addition across Africa’s raw materials sector and to strengthen our continent’s industrial resilience and economic sovereignty.
“Africa stands at a defining threshold. For too long, we have exported raw materials and imported dependencies. The summit’s theme, ‘Shaping the Future of Africa’s Resource Landscape’, challenges us to rewrite this narrative. This is not just a policy document. It is a continental declaration of intent, a call to build economies where value is retained.
“Industries are localised, and innovation drives progress. Value addition is no longer aspirational. It is imperative. It is the bridge between poverty and prosperity. The path to youth empowerment, SME growth, and global competitiveness. I commend the Raw Materials Research and Development Council for its groundbreaking efforts in driving Nigeria’s 30 percent minimum value addition policy and for establishing this summit as a unified platform for Africa’s industrial future.
“The ministry remains unwavering in its support for Nigeria’s 30 per cent Minimum Value-Addition Policy. We are crafting forward-looking policies, deploying digital flexibility and stratification infrastructure and scaling research to commercialisation frameworks to ensure that local content forms a pillar of inter-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, with partners across the country.
“We are working to shift the trade axis from raw to refined, from extraction to transformation. Let this summit declare firmly and irreversibly that Africa will no longer export its future in unprocessed form.
“Our cocoa, our cassava, industrial inputs, will feed global markets, and our youth will drive innovation as engineers, scientists, and the wealth creators of tomorrow. Let us make this summit not merely memorable, but monumental, a catalytic moment in our shared journey toward economic dignity and sustainable prosperity.”
Also speaking, the director-general of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, said President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is lighting the flames of an industrial renaissance as it is rooted in local transformation, inclusive prosperity, and strategic value addition.
He said that under the proposed bill by RMRDC at the National Assembly, every raw material before it crosses Nigeria’s borders will be valued at least 30 per cent.
He said: “This summit is our moment, where Africa reclaims its narrative, redefines its destiny, and rededicates itself to transforming raw wealth into real wealth, from the soil beneath our feet through the genius within our people.
“This summit is not just a dialogue; it is Africa’s proclamation of industrial independence, a renewed consciousness of authentically becoming value producers rather than potential exporters.”
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