SMDF-EMERGE: Nigeria launches grant to fund mineral exploration, research and value addition
From billions in investment commitments to a new science-driven funding pipeline, the launch of SMDF EMERGE signals a structural shift in how Nigeria intends to unlock its mineral wealth.
The conversation about Nigeria’s mining future took centre stage in Abuja on June 10, 2026, as government officials, investors, researchers, and industry stakeholders gathered for the launch of the Early-Stage Mineral Exploration and Research Grant Endowment (EMERGE) Programme.
Organised by the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), the event unveiled the missing link in Nigeria’s mining ecosystem: structured funding for exploration, research, and early-stage project development.
What is EMERGE?
A grant programme with an agenda
EMERGE is not a loan, a subsidy, or a vague government pledge. It is a competitively awarded grant facility funded and implemented by the SMDF, with global professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) serving as its independent programme administration partner. It operates across three distinct funding streams, each designed to tackle a specific choke point in Nigeria’s mining value chain.
What exactly is EMERGE funding, and how is it structured?
Inside EMERGE: what the programme actually funds
EMERGE is structured around three distinct funding streams, each designed to tackle a specific gap in Nigeria’s mining value chain.
The first focuses on early-stage geological exploration, including mapping, surveying, and drilling activities that generate the data required by investors.
The second targets critical minerals such as lithium and rare earth elements, which are increasingly central to global energy transition technologies including batteries, electric vehicles, and renewable energy systems.
The third stream supports research and development in Nigerian universities, funding postgraduate studies in geoscience, mineral processing, and related fields.
This research component stood out as one of the most innovative aspects of EMERGE, linking academia directly with industrial development.
Key Speeches from the Launch
What the speakers said
The keynote came from the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, who used the occasion to both celebrate the programme’s launch and draw a sharp line between what this administration inherited and where it now stands.
"When this administration took charge of the solid minerals sector, we made a promise to Nigerians: that we would turn long-neglected mineral wealth into real jobs, real revenue, and real industry. Today, with the launch of EMERGE, I am pleased to report that the promise is being kept."
He came with numbers. Under what his ministry calls the Seven-Point Agenda for the sector, federation revenue from solid minerals climbed from roughly ₦16 billion in 2023 to ₦38 billion in 2024, and has already surpassed ₦70 billion in 2025 — a 337 per cent increase in two years. New investment commitments have reached approximately $2.6 billion since 2023, including lithium processing plants and a rare earth facility.
But the defining message of the keynote was not the output figures. It was the shift in focus from extraction to science.
"For the first time, we are not only funding the digging of minerals, but also supporting the science and innovation required to refine them into higher-value products within Nigeria," Alake said.
He described EMERGE as the first time Nigeria has offered dedicated grant funding for geoscience and mineral-processing research, a signal, he said is a fundamental shift in how the government views the sector: not just as a source of raw exports, but as the foundation of an industrial economy. Breakthroughs in lithium processing, gold refining, and rare earth development need not happen in foreign laboratories. With the right funding at the right stage, they can happen here.
Watch a clip of his speech at the event:
Read his full address here: Dr. Dele Alake’s full speech at SMDF-EMERGE
For her part, SMDF Executive Secretary Hajia Fatima Umaru Shinkafi took a more technical angle, walking attendees through how EMERGE fits into a broader investment architecture that the Fund has been building over several years. She pointed to the AFC-SMDF Project Development Facility, a joint initiative with the Africa Finance Corporation, as evidence that EMERGE is not a standalone gesture but the critical first rung of a full financing ladder.
How EMERGE Works
She described EMERGE as a competitively awarded grant facility created to address one of the most persistent gaps in the minerals sector: the chronic shortage of early-stage financing that has prevented promising projects from progressing beyond the exploration phase.
"For too long, Nigeria's mineral wealth has sat in the ground as unrealised potential. Its most promising projects could not attract the early funding they needed to move from concept to proof. EMERGE is the intervention that changes that," she said.
Shinkafi explained that the programme is not a standalone gesture but the first stage in a broader investment pathway developed by SMDF. Early exploration and research funded through EMERGE feeds into the AFC-SMDF Project Development Facility, a joint initiative with the Africa Finance Corporation, before progressing to large-scale private investment and production. According to her, that coordinated framework ensures mining projects are supported from the earliest geological survey through to commercial scale.
She also stressed that reliable data sits at the heart of the entire model.
"Data is the new oil, and exploration is the foundation of mining development. You cannot build projects without knowing what is beneath the ground," she said.
Watch a clip of her speech at the event:
Read her full speech here: Hajia Fatima Umaru Shinkafi’s full speech
Who can apply
Senior Manager at PwC, Oyekemi Ajayi, addressed concerns about who qualifies and how applications will be evaluated. She confirmed that the research and development stream is open to Master’s and PhD researchers, university departments, and research institutions operating within Nigeria. Eligible grant expenses include fieldwork, accommodation, laboratory testing, and research materials. She was firm that the evaluation process would be objective — the same commitment echoed by the minister.
Applications are assessed on a rolling, first-come, first-served basis. The SMDF has confirmed that the research stream formally opens on 10 July 2025.
Visit smdf.gov.ng for full guidelines and submission details.
Who attended and what it means
The gathering was notably cross-sectoral. Seated in the hall were the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Senator Sampson Ekong, alongside the Chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals, Honourable Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi, a signal that the legislature is aligned with the programme’s direction. Stakeholders from the Central Bank of Nigeria were also present, reflecting the sector’s growing connection to foreign reserves policy, following the SMDF’s delivery of responsibly sourced, internationally certified gold to the CBN.
Mining companies, researchers, and entrepreneurs rounded out the room, many of them the very people the programme is designed to fund.
Listen to what some of the participants told us:
What attendees said
The energy at the event was difficult to miss. This was not a routine government function. Attendees arrived with questions, and many left with a cautious but genuine optimism that something structural had shifted.
Among the mining entrepreneurs we spoke with, the recurring sentiment was one of relief. For years, the earliest stage of a mining project, the surveys, the geological work, the laboratory testing, has been the hardest to fund. Banks will not touch it. Private investors will not commit to it. It is the stage where most Nigerian mining ideas have died quietly, not for lack of merit but for lack of a mechanism. EMERGE, many said, is that mechanism.
We spoke with Engineer Adeniran Ajibade, President of the Gemstone Miners and Marketers Association of Nigeria, on the gap SMDF EMERGE aims to address. Here is what he had to say:
We also spoke with the Chairman of First African Coconut Company Limited, John-Bede Anthonio, about his views on SMDF EMERGE. Here is what he had to say:
Why EMERGE Matters
Beyond the speeches and announcements, the launch reflected a deeper shift in Nigeria’s mining strategy.
For decades, the sector has struggled with one major bottleneck: lack of exploration data. Without reliable geological information, investors have been hesitant to commit capital, leaving many mineral deposits underdeveloped.
EMERGE directly targets this gap.
By funding exploration and research at the earliest stage, the programme aims to reduce investment risk, generate credible data, and build a pipeline of viable projects.
It also reflects a broader global trend, where countries are racing to secure critical minerals needed for energy transition technologies.
Nigeria, with its lithium and rare earth potential, is positioning itself to compete in that space.
Scenes and moments from the event
The venue filled steadily throughout the event, drawing a cross-section of Nigeria’s mining and policy world that is rarely gathered in one place. Here is a look at how the day unfolded:
See more Photos here: More Photos from SMDF-EMERGE
