Nigeria: RMRDC Boosts Investment in Nigeria's $582bn Untapped Wealth

The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) has unveiled a strategy to unlock Nigeria's estimated $582.4 billion in documented non-renewable natural resources by pushing domestic processing, mandatory value addition, technology transfer and stronger regional supply chains.

The Director-General and Chief Executive of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Professor Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso stated this during a press conference yesterday ahead of the second Africa Raw Materials Summit (ARMS), scheduled for October 19 and 20 in Abuja.

Professor Ike-Muonso said the strategy would move Nigeria and other African countries away from exporting unprocessed commodities and importing finished products at higher costs.

Ike-Muonso said Nigeria's vast resource base could deliver greater industrial and economic value if more of the resources were processed locally.

"In Nigeria alone, our subsoil holds over 582.4 billion US dollars in documented non-renewable natural resources," the DG said.

The DG said the council would use the second edition of ARMS, themed "From African Feedstock to African Factories," to bring together policymakers, investors, technology providers and industry players around mechanisms for converting Africa's raw materials into higher-value products.

A major component of the strategy, Ike-Muonso said, is the Raw Materials 30 per cent Mandatory Value Addition Bill, which the RMRDC championed and is awaiting presidential assent.

The chairman of the local organising committee for ARMS 2026, Rachel Kotso, said unlocking the value of Africa's resources would require countries on the continent to integrate their production and processing systems.

"We recognise that over the years, Nigeria and other African countries have been shipping out raw materials in the primary forms, which are later processed and sent back to us to buy at a much higher value," she said.

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