Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Group, has urged African governments, financiers and private sector leaders to urgently pivot the continent’s economic model from raw resource extraction to large-scale processing and industrial transformation.

Speaking at a high-level mining forum convened by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), in Cape Town, South Africa, Rabiu commended the institution for its leadership in mobilising long-term capital for Africa’s industrial, mining and real sector development, noting that its recent S&P Global rating with a positive outlook reinforces the importance of strong development finance institutions in shaping Africa’s growth trajectory.

Drawing from BUA’s 16-year journey in mining and cement production, Rabiu recounted how Nigeria once depended heavily on cement imports despite possessing vast limestone deposits. He described the challenge of constantly chasing foreign exchange to import cement, exposing the company to currency volatility and supply uncertainties.

“We were spending more time chasing FX than selling cement,” he said, explaining that BUA eventually made the strategic decision to invest in local cement production anchored on Nigeria’s limestone resources.

Today, BUA mines and processes approximately 40,000 tonnes of limestone daily, producing about one million tonnes of cement monthly. As a result, Nigeria has transitioned from being a net importer of cement to a net exporter, saving billions of dollars annually in foreign exchange.

Rabiu stressed that such transformation would not have been possible without patient capital from development finance institutions, particularly AFC, which has supported BUA Cement and other industrial operations with over $400 million in long-term financing. He noted that a substantial portion of the facility has already been repaid, demonstrating that well-structured African industrial projects are both developmental and bankable.

Expanding the discussion to the wider continent, Rabiu highlighted what he described as Africa’s “structural paradox.” While Africa is rich in resources, the majority of its mineral wealth is exported in raw or minimally processed form. Gold, platinum group metals, cobalt, copper, iron ore and diamonds are largely shipped abroad for processing, while African nations import finished products at significantly higher prices.

He pointed out that Nigeria spends between $3 billion and $4 billion annually importing steel products despite sitting on over four billion tonnes of iron ore.

The same pattern, he noted, exists in agriculture. Four African countries produce about 75 per cent of the world’s cocoa, yet Africa captures only a fraction of the more than $200 billion global chocolate industry. Meanwhile, Africa holds about 60 per cent of the world’s arable land but continues to import billions of dollars worth of food annually.

“Africa does not lack resources,” Rabiu declared. “Africa lacks processing capacity, industrial scale and strategic execution.”

He called on development finance institutions to scale long-term financing for beneficiation, industrial value chains and infrastructure, while urging governments to adopt deliberate policies that incentivise local processing and discourage raw exports where capacity exists.

“Africa must move from extraction to transformation, from potential to productivity, and from resource wealth to shared prosperity,” he concluded.