By News Maker Media in Abuja
Africa’s biggest industrial opportunity lies not in discovering more resources but in processing the ones it already has, the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) has said.
The Council disclosed this ahead of the second edition of the African Raw Materials Summit (ARMS) 2026, scheduled for October 19-20, 2026, at the Abuja Continental Hotel.
With the theme: “From African Feedstock to African Factory,” the summit seeks to shift Africa from the traditional “pit-to-port” model, where raw materials leave the continent with little processing — to a system where African resources feed African factories.
Speaking on the summit, RMRDC Director-General, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, said Africa must move from exporting low-margin primary commodities to producing higher-value industrial goods.
He identified logistics, policy, circular sustainability, continental integration and capital-backed innovation as critical to the transformation, adding that development of a circular industrial economy, converting agricultural waste, mine tailings, scrap metals and biomass into feedstock, would reduce costs and support sustainable manufacturing.
Prof. Ike-Muonso also pointed to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a platform for building regional value chains, urging African countries to leverage their different resources and industrial capacities rather than operating as isolated markets.
According to the organizers, ARMS 2026 will bring together policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, manufacturers and entrepreneurs to examine how Africa can retain more value from its natural resources and turn the principle into practical partnerships.
The summit is being driven by the Head of Secretariat, Rachael Kotso, and Director of Corporate Affairs, Chinyere Nnamdi-Anum.
