“We don’t want scavengers and extractors. We want partners who process and manufacture locally.”
That’s Nigeria’s President Tinubu while addressing more than 2 800 business leaders, investors and policy makers from Africa and around the world at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, May 14-15, 2026.
President Tinubu also advocated an “Africa First” approach to development, insisting that African resources should primarily benefit the continent through local processing and manufacturing.
The annual summit of the Africa CEO Forum is the largest international meeting of the African private sector.
President Tinubu declared that Nigeria would no longer permit the export of raw minerals without local value addition, noting that the country possesses the capacity to manufacture products such as electric vehicle batteries from its mineral resources.
He said: “With our metals, we can produce batteries for cars. The private sector brings capital and expertise, but government must de-risk and create the enabling environment. That partnership is how Africa moves forward”.
He also canvassed for stronger economic integration across the continent, urging African countries to move beyond rhetoric and fully activate the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).According to him, Africa needs to put its money where its mouth is and build a new relationship with its own resources.
“We have the African Continental Free Trade Area—it must not sit on the shelf. It needs to be activated properly through collaboration and effective use of resources, not by working in silos,” President Tinubu said.
