Cape town: Alhaji Abdul Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Group, has urged African governments and stakeholders to transition the continent’s economic focus from raw materials extraction to large-scale processing and industrial transformation. Rabiu made this call during a high-level mining forum organized by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) in Cape Town, South Africa. He applauded the AFC for its efforts in mobilizing long-term capital for Africa’s industrial and mining sectors.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Rabiu emphasized the impact of Africa’s latest S and P Global rating, which highlights the critical role of development finance institutions in guiding the continent’s growth. Drawing from BUA’s experience over the past 16 years in mining and cement production, he noted Nigeria’s past reliance on cement imports despite having abundant limestone deposits. This dependency led to significant challenges related to currency fluctuations and supply chain uncertainties.
Rabiu shared BUA’s strategic decision to pivot towards local cement production based on Nigeria’s limestone resources, which has enabled the company to mine and process approximately 40,000 tonnes of limestone daily. This shift has transformed Nigeria from a net importer to a net exporter of cement, saving the country billions of dollars in foreign exchange annually.
The BUA Chairman credited development finance institutions, particularly the AFC, for their crucial role in this transformation by providing over 400 million dollars in long-term financing. A significant portion of this facility has been repaid, underscoring the viability of well-structured African industrial projects.
Rabiu pointed out Africa’s “structural paradox,” where the continent, rich in resources, exports a majority of its mineral wealth in raw or minimally processed forms. He noted that minerals like gold, platinum group metals, and iron ore are shipped abroad for processing, while African countries import finished products at much higher costs. He highlighted Nigeria’s expenditure of three to four billion dollars annually on steel imports despite having vast iron ore reserves.
He also mentioned the agricultural sector, where Africa, despite producing a significant portion of the world’s cocoa, captures only a small fraction of the 200 billion dollars global chocolate market. With 60 percent of the world’s arable land, Africa continues to spend billions on food imports due to a lack of processing capacity and industrial scale.
Rabiu called on development finance institutions to enhance financing for beneficiation, industrial value chains, and infrastructure, urging governments to implement policies that incentivize local processing and discourage raw exports where capacity exists.