By Yinka Kolawole

Nigeria is positioning its vast critical mineral deposits as the foundation for a new wave of industrial growth, following the unveiling of a strategic roadmap designed to convert the country’s mineral wealth into investments in clean energy manufacturing and domestic value addition.

The roadmap, presented by the Council for Critical Minerals Development in the Global South to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, identifies pathways for leveraging Nigeria’s lithium, copper and bauxite resources to build local industries, deepen mineral beneficiation and attract investment into green manufacturing.

Presented on the sidelines of the just-concluded 5th African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS 2026), the report comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to move beyond exporting raw minerals towards developing integrated value chains that support industrialisation, job creation and energy transition.

Receiving the report, Alake said it provides a clear policy blueprint for aligning Nigeria’s clean energy ambitions with its mineral endowment by mapping domestic demand for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, battery energy storage and electric vehicles against existing supply and trade patterns.

According to the minister, the analysis confirms that Nigeria possesses the strategic minerals required to power the country’s green energy transition while creating opportunities for local processing and manufacturing.

“By mapping domestic demand, supply and trade patterns, this report provides mineral-specific policy pathways to leverage Nigeria’s resources for our own green industrialisation,” Alake said.

He noted that the report would guide policy reforms aimed at strengthening mineral beneficiation, expanding local value addition and creating stronger forward linkages between the mining sector and manufacturing industries, enabling Nigeria to retain more value from its natural resources.

Market analysts say the strategy could significantly improve Nigeria’s attractiveness to investors seeking reliable critical mineral supply chains as global demand for battery metals and clean energy technologies continues to rise.

It was also announced that the next phase will include the development of a mineral-to-manufacturing localisation roadmap, promotion of South-South investment partnerships and collaboration with domestic stakeholders to accelerate green industrialisation projects.

The initiative is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s position in the rapidly expanding global critical minerals market while supporting the Federal Government’s ambition to transform the mining sector into a major driver of industrial growth, exports and non-oil foreign exchange earnings.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development  (EBRD) has set a target of investing at least $1.5 billion in Nigeria over the next three years as it expands its operations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The projection was disclosed by the EBRD’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Ms Heike Harmgart, and the bank’s Country Director and Head of Nigerian operations, Hamza Al-Assad, during the official opening of the bank’s first office in Sub-Saharan Africa in Lagos on Friday.

The investment target follows the bank’s entry into Nigeria in October 2025, which highlights the financial institution’s confidence in the country’s private sector and investment potential. Harmgart said the bank had adopted a demand-driven investment approach and would continue to finance viable projects rather than work with predetermined allocations in Nigeria.

She noted that the bank had already committed about $280 million in Nigeria within its first year of operation, including $180 million invested in the first half of the year. 

“I’m personally very proud of Hamza and the team that we are already at $280 million, although we’ve only been here for less than a year, and already in the first half of this year have invested $180 million.

“I think this year is looking good. We’re probably looking at around $300 million this year, but we don’t have a particular ceiling or target as such.

“We want to pursue as many opportunities as possible. Over the next three years, our expectation is that we would do a minimum total of $1.5 billion, but again, that’s an estimate,” Ms Harmgart said.

By Yinka Kolawole

Nigeria’s manufacturers are increasingly embracing local sourcing and value addition as a survival strategy to reduce dependence on imported inputs amid rising production costs that continue to undermine their competitiveness within the domestic and regional markets.

Industry operators, however, warn that without lower financing costs, improved infrastructure, better logistics and stronger government support for local raw material development, the country’s manufacturing sector may struggle to fully harness opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Speaking in a television interview, Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said manufacturers are increasingly investing in local sourcing and value addition to reduce exposure to imported raw materials, but stressed that the prevailing exchange rate remains too high to support competitive industrial production.

Ajayi-Kadir warned that although AfCFTA offers Nigerian manufacturers access to a wider continental market, the country risks losing out to competitors operating in lower-cost economies unless structural impediments are addressed.

He identified affordable financing, efficient transport and logistics, reliable power supply, improved infrastructure, tax efficiency and competitive input costs as critical requirements for Nigerian manufacturers to compete effectively across Africa. 

Regional General Manager of Bel Papyrus Limited, a tissue paper manufacturing firm, Charbel Kairouz, said manufacturers continue to grapple with foreign exchange constraints for importing essential raw materials, while unstable electricity supply further raises production costs.

According to him, expanding the local availability of industrial raw materials would significantly reduce costs, shorten supply chains and improve manufacturers’ operational efficiency.

“Local raw materials, with stable pricing, will allow companies to save costs, reduce delays and overcome major supply-chain challenges,” Kairouz said.

Similarly, Managing Director of Colexa Biosensor Ltd, an indigenous pharma company, urged government to adopt policies that place local manufacturing at the centre of Nigeria’s industrial strategy.

He stated: “While imports remain necessary, policy should progressively shift the country’s production mix from its current dependence on imported goods towards greater domestic manufacturing. However, such a transition requires consistent implementation rather than policy pronouncements.”

It is estimated that over 70 per cent of the inputs used in the country’s manufacturing sector are sourced from abroad, according to Director General of Raw Materials Research and Development Council, RMRDC, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso

This, he noted, reflects a major structural weakness that reduces the sector’s contribution to GDP, hinders job creation, and increases production costs. He added that the over-reliance on imported inputs, compounded by factors such as exchange rate volatility, had driven costs off limits of sustainability and threatens Nigeria’s industrial future.

According to him, Nigeria must reduce its dependence on foreign raw materials by at least 60 per cent over the next five years to reposition itself as an industrial powerhouse.

“Very soon, manufacturers who research, develop and patronise local raw materials will pay significantly lower taxes than those who do not. This is now an instrumental tool for attracting private-sector investment and stimulating technology-driven manufacturing.

“In general, it is clear that to reposition Nigeria as an industrial powerhouse, we must reduce foreign raw material imports by at least 60 per cent in the next five years and significantly increase local resource utilisation; incentivise value addition through technology adoption and tax support; support the emergence of industrial hubs and clusters around strategic raw material zones; deepen research–industry collaboration for tailored innovation; facilitate technology transfer, infrastructure finance, and SME integration across the manufacturing spectrum,” Ike-Muonso stated.