WiM-Africa Action Plan (2025–2030)
A Continental Roadmap for Gender Inclusion, Economic Empowerment & Sustainable Mining in Africa
The WiM-Africa Action Plan (2025–2030) is a five-year continental framework designed to transform Africa’s mining sector through the full inclusion, leadership, and economic empowerment of women—across artisanal, small-scale, and industrial mining value chains.
Developed through multi-country consultations across more than 36 African nations, this Action Plan reflects the lived realities, aspirations, and leadership of women miners, professionals, cooperatives, students, and host communities. It is not a static document. It is a living framework for systems change.
What This Action Plan Is
The Executive Director Provides a Highlight of the 2025-2030 Action Plan of WiM-Africa
Africa’s mining sector holds immense potential—but women remain structurally excluded from ownership, leadership, value chains, and decision-making.
The WiM-Africa Action Plan (2025–2030) exists to correct this.
It is a continental blueprint for how governments, communities, investors, development institutions, universities, and private sector actors can work together to:
• Embed gender equity in mining governance
• Build women-led mineral enterprises
• Create fair, traceable, and climate-resilient value chains
• Protect women and girls in mining host communities
• Mobilize the next generation of African mining leaders
This plan aligns with Agenda 2063, the SDGs, AfCFTA, and the Africa Mining Vision—while remaining grounded in grassroots realities.
Why This Plan Matters
Women in Africa’s mining sector face systemic barriers:
• Informality and exclusion from licensing
• Gender-based violence in mining spaces
• Limited access to finance and markets
• Poor working conditions
• Weak policy representation
• Lack of data visibility
Mining host communities—where women and children are most affected—remain disconnected from industrial growth, ESG systems, and benefit-sharing mechanisms.
"WiM-Africa’s response is structural, not symbolic.This Action Plan does not “add women” to mining. It redesigns the system." Dr Comfort Asokoro-Ogaji
Video; Afreximbank Endorses and Aligns with the WiM-Africa Action Plan for Inclusive Mineral Development
Strategic Architecture of the Plan
1. Strategic Focus Areas (SFs)
All WiM-Africa programs operate within three Strategic Focus Areas:
Coalition & Capacity Building
Building strong networks of women miners, professionals, students, and cooperatives across Africa through leadership development, skills training, and enterprise support.
Advocacy & Policy Influence
Driving systemic reforms that embed gender equity into mining laws, ESG frameworks, licensing systems, and host community protections.
Economic Empowerment & Sustainable Development
Supporting women to move from subsistence to profitable, formal, value-added participation in mineral value chains.
Historic Declaration by H.E. Dr. Mariem Mint Dah, First Lady of Mauritania
Madeline R. Young-Touré emphasized that the WiM-Africa Action Plan (2025–2030) is strategically aligned with Agenda 2063, AfCFTA, and WiM-Africa’s Strategic Focus Areas, positioning women as central drivers of Africa’s industrialization, value creation, and continental integration.
Strategic Architecture of the Plan
2. The Seven Point Program Agenda (7PPAs)
The Action Plan is operationalized through seven continental program pillars:
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Women-Led Mineral Value Addition & Market Linkages
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Women-Only Mining Zones & Cooperative Development
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ESG & Climate Resilience for Women in Mining
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Legal Support & Policy Advocacy for Women in Mining
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NextGen WiM – Future Women Mining Leaders
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WiM-Africa Research & Data Hub
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Digital & Media Influence in Mining Advocacy
Each of these pillars contains multiple implementable programs, delivered through chapters, partners, and institutions.
Speech by Nametso Ntosa-Carr | Chairperson, SADC Women in Mining | WiM-Africa Action Plan
Five-Year Implementation Roadmap
The Action Plan unfolds in structured phases:
Year 1 (2025/26) – Foundation & Chapter Development
Without strong foundations, scale becomes fragile.
Year One ensures that WiM-Africa’s continental ambitions are matched by institutional maturity, governance clarity, delivery discipline, and long-term credibility.
This is the year where systems are built, standards are set, and the conditions for real impact are secured.
What Will Be Built in Year One
WiM-Africa will consolidate its continental governance model, aligning its Directorates, Bureaus, and chapters under a single operational logic. This ensures consistency in decision-making, accountability, reporting, and partnership management across all countries.
The Secretariat and Office of the Executive Director will serve as the central coordination engine—supporting chapters, managing partnerships, and integrating programs across regions.