By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
Women in Mining Africa (WiM-Africa) has taken a historic step forward with the successful validation of its Action Plan (2025–2030), a continental strategy designed to transform Africa’s mining sector through gender equity, sustainability, and inclusive development.
The high-level workshop, attended by African First Ladies, policymakers, development institutions, private sector leaders, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and mining communities, endorsed a $150 million framework that sets a clear direction for the next five years.
The action plan aligns with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the Africa Mining Vision, the African Mineral and Energy Resources Classification and Management System (AMREC), the Pan-African Resourcing Corridor (PARC), the AU Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Strategy (GEWE), and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The validation workshop brought together powerful voices from across the continent, including goodwill messages from African First Ladies and institutional partners, highlighting the urgency of strengthening women’s participation in mining, investing in cooperative development, and creating safer environments for women working in vulnerable conditions.
At the heart of the action plan are transformative programmes that will redefine Africa’s mining landscape. Over the next five years, WiM-Africa will establish regional multi-mineral beneficiation laboratories, expand and strengthen national WiM chapters, provide investment-readiness support for women-led enterprises, and advance ESG and climate resilience programmes that address both environmental degradation and gender-based vulnerabilities in mining host communities.
Central to this vision is the creation of the WiM-Africa Institute for Leadership, Sustainable Mining & Value Addition, which will serve as a hub for research, training, youth leadership development, and innovation.
Speaking at the workshop, Dr Comfort Asokoro-Ogaji, Executive Director (ED) of WiM-Africa, emphasised that the action plan is “not just a document, but a continental commitment to action.”
She noted that the plan provides a roadmap for women miners, youth leaders and allies to move from the margins of survival to the center of Africa’s mineral wealth creation and governance.
In her powerful address, Her Excellency Mrs Mariem Mint Dah, First Lady of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, reaffirmed this vision by declaring the WiM-Africa Action Plan a “validated, working, and living document—serving as the continental framework to guide women’s empowerment, value addition, and inclusive transformation in Africa’s mining sector.”
She reminded participants that women are not simply participants in development, but its very heartbeat, and pointed to Mauritania’s progress where women now hold 30% of ministerial positions and are increasingly leaders in mining, geology, and engineering.
Her Excellency highlighted that empowering women in Africa’s mining sector is not optional but a developmental necessity, and pledged the unwavering support of Mauritania’s President, government, and people to advancing this continental agenda.
As pledges of support continue to come in from governments, DFIs, NGOs, and corporate partners, WiM-Africa is calling on all stakeholders to endorse the plan and make tangible contributions to its implementation.
The validation of this Action Plan marks the beginning of a new chapter for Africa’s mining sector, one where women’s leadership, innovation, and resilience will be at the forefront of continental transformation.