In a powerful address to participants at a week-long hybrid engagement for women miners and entrepreneurs, Dr. Comfort Asokoro-Ogaji, Executive Director of Women in Mining Africa (WiM-Africa), urged women across the continent’s mining sector to reject destructive competition and prioritize collaboration for sustainable progress.
Speaking during the ongoing event, which combines online and in-person sessions, Dr. Asokoro-Ogaji highlighted the divisive impact of rivalry among women-led organizations. “Collaboration is the true alternative to competition,” she declared. “When women compete destructively, it divides our strength and slows our progress. But when we collaborate, we build power that moves the sector—and the continent—forward.”
She stressed that Africa’s mining future hinges on mutual support through partnerships, joint ventures, and cooperatives. In the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, she advocated for women to pool resources, skills, and tools to enhance production and safety. For larger companies, merging capacities could foster greater strength, while in advocacy, joint programs would amplify institutional impact rather than vie for recognition.
Responding to queries on replicating WiM-Africa’s initiatives locally, Dr. Asokoro-Ogaji offered strong endorsement, calling for a focus on NextGen programs to nurture young women’s professional development. She envisioned the next decade producing dynamic female leaders in policy, innovation, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, and enterprise.
“Copy all that there is to copy from WiM-Africa,” she encouraged national and community chapters, advising them to adapt frameworks, fellowships, and leadership models for lasting continuity.
Dr. Asokoro-Ogaji also pushed for stronger alliances between women-led enterprises, mineral sourcing firms, beneficiation industries, and continental policy bodies. These ties, she said, should align with the African Union’s Agenda 2063—“The Africa We Want”—to center women in responsible mineral value chains and economic transformation.
In closing, she reaffirmed WiM-Africa’s dedication to a unified, inclusive mining sector via its Five-Year Action Plan (2025–2030), aimed at empowering women miners, bolstering cooperatives, and promoting industrial value addition across Africa.
The engagement continues to foster dialogue among women in mining, signaling a shift toward collaborative empowerment in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
