With President Duma Boko’s backing and Ufo Eric-Atuanya helping steer its vision, the Okavango Circle seeks to strengthen Africa’s influence over critical minerals, technology, finance and the industries shaping tomorrow’s global economy.
By Ajong Mbapndah L
For decades, Africa has supplied the minerals that fuel industries across the world, often watching much of the wealth, technology and industrial development generated from those resources accumulate elsewhere. Botswana President Duma Boko believes the time has come to change that equation, and the newly launched Okavango Circle is positioning itself as a platform for advancing that ambition.
Speaking at the official launch on September 22, 2026, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Boko challenged Africa to move beyond its traditional role as an exporter of raw materials and become a stronger player in the industries, investments and international decisions shaping the future.
The launch, held at the Waldorf Astoria, brought together government officials, investors, industry leaders and technology experts, with Botswana’s Minister of Minerals and Energy, Bogolo Kenewendo, and Eswatini’s Minister of Information, Communications and Technology, Senator Savannah Maziya, among the prominent participants.
The Okavango Circle is a global platform designed to bring governments, industry, investors, researchers and technology leaders together to address the growing convergence of critical minerals, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and finance. Its central proposition is that Africa must not only provide the resources powering tomorrow’s industries but also help shape the policies, partnerships and institutions governing them.
President Boko did not mince words in describing the historical imbalance that has characterized Africa’s mineral trade with the rest of the world.
“Current mineral trade with Africa was structured to merely extract ore and cart it away raw to places outside Africa. And the bulk of Foreign Direct Investment that has come to Africa has been resource seeking Foreign Direct Investment which simply came to cart away the ore,” he said.
For the Botswana leader, breaking with that model requires more than attracting foreign investment. It demands building local industries, developing expertise and creating partnerships that allow African countries to retain more of the value generated from their natural resources.
His message comes as global competition for critical minerals intensifies, driven by growing demand for batteries, renewable energy systems, electric vehicles and digital infrastructure. With Africa holding significant deposits of minerals essential to these industries, the continent faces an opportunity to strengthen its position in global value chains.
President Boko acknowledged that governments cannot navigate these challenges alone, emphasizing the importance of partnerships with businesses, researchers and institutions possessing the expertise and networks needed to deliver results.
“The assumption always when government takes a position is that government has the knowledge, the skill, and the expertise. That is not always correct,” he observed, urging governments to recognize their limitations and draw on the capabilities of other stakeholders.
Perhaps his most compelling intervention concerned the location and ownership of conversations about Africa’s future. Too often, he suggested, decisions with profound implications for the continent are debated and shaped far beyond its borders.
“Often conversations about Africa take place away from Africa outside of Africa,” President Boko observed. “In part, this initiative will ensure that the African story, evolves, is shaped, is refined, and is disseminated from Africa itself.”
He welcomed the prospect of bringing influential international gatherings to African soil and encouraged the Okavango Circle to make Botswana a focal point for future engagements. Inspired by Botswana’s world-renowned Okavango Delta, the initiative carries a distinctly African identity while pursuing an international mandate.
Ufo Eric-Atuanya and the Vision Behind the Okavango Circle
For Ufo Eric-Atuanya, Co-Chair of the Okavango Circle Steering Committee and President of Rimsom Global, the initiative represents a new approach to addressing Africa’s development challenges by recognizing that mineral resources, technological advancement and investment are increasingly inseparable.
Eric-Atuanya, whose firm organized the New York launch, has been helping advance the Circle’s vision of bringing governments, investors, industry leaders and researchers into a common conversation about the governance of these interconnected systems.
“What makes the Okavango Circle novel is that it is not looking at critical minerals, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and finance as separate conversations. It is focused on the governance of their convergence: the interconnectedness between these systems and the implications that this convergence has for economies, societies and institutions,” he explained.
The distinction is important. Critical minerals power many of the technologies transforming the global economy, while technological innovation is changing how those minerals are discovered, extracted and processed. Finance determines which projects advance, who owns them and where much of the economic value ultimately flows.
For Eric-Atuanya, addressing these developments separately risks overlooking the opportunities and challenges created by their interaction.
“The question is no longer simply how we govern critical minerals, or how we govern artificial intelligence, or how we govern finance. The question is how we govern the points at which these systems intersect, influence one another and create new opportunities and risks,” he said.
The Okavango Circle intends to explore these questions through dialogue, research and policy engagement, with particular attention to responsible mineral development, beneficiation, industrial transformation, local value addition and investment frameworks.
For African countries, the implications are considerable. Decisions about mineral processing, technology transfer, industrial investment and access to finance will help determine whether resource-rich economies can build competitive industries, create skilled employment and strengthen their negotiating position internationally.
By bringing these conversations together, the Circle seeks to provide a forum where African governments can engage global partners with greater coordination and a clearer understanding of the economic opportunities and policy challenges involved.
Botswana Sets the Pace, Africa Takes the Stage
Botswana’s role in launching the initiative reflects its interest in contributing to wider conversations about Africa’s economic transformation and the future of its mineral wealth.
Minister Bogolo Kenewendo welcomed the Circle as a platform for governments, industry leaders, investors and researchers to examine the strategic challenges surrounding critical minerals and emerging technologies. Her participation also provided a foundation for continued engagement between the Government of Botswana and the initiative’s organizers as they develop its implementation framework.
The presence of Senator Savannah Maziya, Eswatini’s minister responsible for information, communications and technology, reinforced the Circle’s Pan-African outlook and the importance of connecting mineral development with technological advancement.
Although Botswana provides a prominent starting point, the initiative is designed to reach beyond its borders, bringing African governments and international partners together around challenges that no single country can adequately address alone.
For a continent seeking to accelerate industrialization, expand employment opportunities and strengthen its negotiating position in international markets, the potential value of such cooperation is considerable.
Turning Ambition Into Action
Beyond the international attention surrounding its New York debut, the Okavango Circle faces the task of translating its ambitions into concrete programmes and partnerships.
The Steering Committee is expected to develop a Tactical Plan within 60 days of the launch and submit proposed implementation steps to the Government of Botswana. The plan will outline priorities for institutional development, international engagement and partnerships, drawing on consultations with governments, investors, global institutions, industry leaders and researchers.
A central part of the initiative’s structure will be the Technology Convergence Governance Institute (TCGI), which will provide the research, policy development and implementation capacity needed to carry forward the outcomes of the Circle’s discussions.
While the Okavango Circle will convene stakeholders and facilitate dialogue, TCGI will focus on translating emerging ideas into research, policy frameworks, programmes and partnerships capable of supporting economic transformation.
With Eric-Atuanya serving as Co-Chair of the Steering Committee, the coming months will provide an early test of the initiative’s ability to attract credible partners, establish an effective institutional framework and move from high-level discussions to practical engagement.
The Okavango Circle enters the international arena at a consequential moment, when competition for critical minerals, technological leadership and investment is reshaping economic relationships across the world. Its success will ultimately depend on whether the partnerships it fosters and the policies it advances translate into stronger institutions, greater industrial capacity and tangible economic opportunities for African countries.
For President Boko, Eric-Atuanya and the initiative’s other stakeholders, the ambition is clear: Africa has spent generations supplying the resources that power the world’s industries. Through the Okavango Circle, it now seeks a stronger hand in determining who develops those resources, who captures their value and who shapes the economic future they make possible.