AFRICAN GOLD AND GEMSTONE SECTOR SEEKS MORE CAPITAL TO UNLOCK ITS POTENTIAL

Stakeholders in Africa’s gold and gemstone industry are calling for stronger investment, improved technical skills and greater participation of women as the continent seeks to capture more economic value from its mineral resources.

The appeal comes ahead of the fifth anniversary edition of the Gold and Gemstones Conference and Exhibition, scheduled to hold in Lagos from November 24 to 28, 2026. The event will be organised under the theme, “African Women Driving Africa’s Gold and Gemstone Economy: Catalysing Investment, Innovation and Global Competitiveness.”

Organisers said the 2026 edition would place greater emphasis on converting Africa’s considerable mineral wealth into economic opportunities within the continent, rather than allowing the region to remain primarily an exporter of raw minerals.

They said the conference would provide a platform for investors, entrepreneurs, mining companies and other industry participants to explore opportunities spanning mining, mineral processing, jewellery production, technology, trading, design and other areas of value addition. The objective is to encourage partnerships that can expand local capacity and strengthen Africa’s position in the global precious-minerals market.

A major concern highlighted by the organisers is the continued export of substantial quantities of Africa’s minerals without sufficient processing and transformation before they leave the continent. They argued that increased investment in beneficiation, processing facilities, jewellery manufacturing, technology and skills development could allow African countries to retain a greater share of the wealth generated from their natural resources.

President of Women in Mining Nigeria, Janet Adeyemi, described the fifth anniversary of the conference as a reflection of the resilience and commitment of stakeholders working to develop Africa’s gold and gemstone industry.

Adeyemi said the 2026 edition would represent a new stage for the event, with a stronger emphasis on investment, innovation, skills development, women's participation and international partnerships. She added that the organisers were positioning the conference to respond to the expectations of an increasingly interconnected global industry.

The role of women is expected to be one of the central themes of this year's gathering. Organisers said African women are increasingly contributing across the mineral value chain as miners, processors, jewellery designers, manufacturers, traders, entrepreneurs, investors and industry leaders.

According to the organisers, expanding women's access to finance, technical skills, technology, markets and leadership opportunities could create additional livelihoods while strengthening local supply chains. The conference will therefore include an Awards and Recognition segment dedicated to African women who are contributing to the development of the sector.

The organisers also believe that greater attention should be paid to turning raw minerals into finished and commercially valuable products within Africa. Such an approach, they said, could support job creation, entrepreneurship and industrial development while reducing the continent's dependence on exporting unprocessed resources.

Beyond the main conference and exhibition, participants will have access to practical jewellery-making masterclasses. The sessions are designed to help both emerging and established entrepreneurs improve their technical and creative abilities and gain a better understanding of how gold and gemstones can be transformed into marketable finished products.

The event is being coordinated by DCS Integrated Media Limited, whose Managing Director, Tunde Obokhai, is leading efforts to expand the conference's international profile.

According to the organisers, the company is adopting a more globally focused approach covering event planning, stakeholder engagement, media relations, branding and production. The aim is to ensure that the anniversary edition meets international standards and presents Africa's gold, gemstone and jewellery opportunities to a wider investment audience.

The fifth anniversary edition is expected to bring together a broader network of industry stakeholders while highlighting opportunities across Africa's precious-minerals ecosystem. Organisers said the event would seek to project the continent's resources with renewed confidence while encouraging practical investment and collaboration.

With Africa possessing significant deposits of gold and gemstones, stakeholders believe that increased investment in processing, manufacturing, technology and human capital could help the continent move beyond the export of raw minerals and build stronger domestic industries around its natural resources.

The discussions in Lagos are therefore expected to focus not simply on the availability of mineral resources, but on how investment, innovation, women's participation and stronger local value chains can transform those resources into sustainable economic opportunities for African countries.