Africa must move beyond exporting raw minerals and build industrial capacity to process, refine and manufacture higher-value products on the continent, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretary-General Wamkele Mene said.
Speaking at the AIM Congress 2026 in Dubai, Mene said Africa’s mineral wealth should increasingly support the development of processing industries, regional value chains and manufacturing capacity rather than primarily supplying raw materials to overseas markets.
“Africa’s mineral wealth must translate into African industrial capacity,” Mene said, setting out the AfCFTA Secretariat’s approach to critical minerals and industrialization.
The AfCFTA provides the continental market needed to support mineral-based industrialization at scale, allowing countries with different capabilities to participate in complementary stages of regional value chains, according to the Secretariat.
The bloc’s Protocol on Investment also provides a common framework aimed at attracting and facilitating investments that contribute to productive capacity, technology transfer and skills development.
Mene also called for an Africa-Gulf strategic minerals alliance based on long-term mutual value, linking African mineral resources with competitive energy, infrastructure, capital, technology and markets while supporting responsible mining and greater value addition on the continent.
The next phase of Africa’s minerals strategy should focus on execution through commercially viable projects, stronger regional value chains and increased processing of African minerals within Africa, he said.
The push comes as African countries, including Ghana, seek to capture a greater share of the economic value generated from natural resources by developing industries around extraction, processing and manufacturing.
