Meaningful Collaboration, A Pathway to Sustainable Growth — Ogaji

Executive Director of Women in Mining Africa (WiM-Africa), Dr. Comfort Asokoro-Ogaji, has urged women in the mining industry across the continent to discontinue unhealthy competition and embrace meaningful collaboration as the key to sustainable growth.

She made the appeal while addressing participants at a week-long hybrid engagement for women miners and mining entrepreneurs in Sierra Leone.

In a statement she signed in Abuja, Dr. Asokoro-Ogaji cautioned that rivalry among women’s groups undermines collective progress, emphasizing that collaboration remains the strongest tool for building shared influence and advancing Africa’s mining sector.

“Collaboration is the true alternative to competition,” she said. “When women compete destructively, it divides our strength. But when we collaborate, we build power that moves the sector—and the continent—forward.”

The statement highlights the importance of cooperation in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, noting that women can gain significantly from functional cooperatives, joint ventures, shared equipment arrangements, and support networks that improve safety, productivity, and profitability.

It further notes that mining companies and associations should build strategic partnerships and joint advocacy efforts aimed at strengthening institutions rather than competing for recognition.

According to the statement, Dr. Asokoro-Ogaji also encouraged women in mining to embrace the network NextGen programme and invest intentionally in nurturing young female professionals.

It adds that the coming decade must produce a new generation of skilled women driving innovation, policy, ESG, and enterprise in the industry.

The statement also urges WiM chapters to adapt WiM-Africa’s leadership models, fellowship programmes, and institutional structures to reinforce their systems and sustain long-term impact, advising: “Copy all that there is to copy from WiM-Africa if it helps you build stronger systems.”

Furthermore, Dr. Asokoro-Ogaji calls for deeper collaboration among women-led enterprises, mineral sourcing companies, beneficiation industries, and continental policy institutions.

The statement stresses that such partnerships must align with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 to ensure women occupy strategic roles in responsible mineral value chains and Africa’s broader economic transformation.

It reaffirms WiM-Africa’s commitment to promoting a unified, inclusive, and sustainable mining ecosystem through the rollout of its Five-Year Action Plan (2025–2030), which centres on empowering women miners, strengthening cooperatives, and enhancing value addition across the continent.