By Joy Odor
A new initiative aimed at empowering Africans to take an active role in harnessing their vast mineral wealth was launched at the AFNIS 2025 conference in Abuja, Nigeria.
The Africans for Africa Fund (AfA Fund) seeks to address the historical imbalance in the mining sector, where African nations and communities have primarily benefited from resource rent, a model that often fails to trickle down to the grassroots.
In a speech delivered by Tim Tokun, the appointed Managing Director of the Africans for Africa Initiative, during the launch informed that AfA Fund aimed to create wealth for Africans from African resources, gain respectable parity alongside foreign exploration and mining companies, and facilitate a visible uplifting of frontline communities.
He noted that The fund’s launch marks a significant shift towards African ownership and control of the continent’s mineral resources.
The initiative’s leaders, including Managing Director Tim Tokun and Co-Founder Suleiman Zakari, emphasized the importance of African mineral sovereignty and the need for innovative financing models to support the growing demand for critical metals like graphite, cobalt, and manganese.
According to them, the AfA Fund has set ambitious targets, including mobilizing $100 million in initial capital and investing in a diversified pipeline of early-stage, high-potential mining projects with strong local ownership.
They mentioned that the initiative aimed to close a second fund at $150 million, bringing the total to a quarter of a billion dollars.
The launch of the AfA Fund marks a pivotal moment in Africa’s mining sector, signaling a new era of African ownership and control of the continent’s mineral resources.
