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Women in Mining Africa (WiM Africa) through its implementing partner Richflood Foundation has officially launched its groundbreaking “NextGen Women in Mining” Initiative, aimed at empowering young women across Africa to pursue careers in the mining industry.
According to a statement, the programme aims to build capacity and provide financial incentives for female students pursuing mining-related courses in universities and polytechnics across Africa, while offering mentorship and career guidance to help them overcome challenges and build successful careers, thus addressing gender disparity in the mining sector and creating a strong network of future female leaders in mining who will drive innovation and sustainability.
“The initiative was successfully launched as a pilot in Northern Nigeria, where over 250 applications were received from female students between the age 18-25, studying mining-related disciplines.
After a rigorous selection process, 100 young women were shortlisted and received incentivized grant of ₦25,000 each.
The recipients are students from institutions such as Federal University Lokoja, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, and universities in Zamfara, Sokoto, and Niger states, among others,” the statement noted.
These young women, many from marginalised communities in the far north, face challenges such as insecurity, limited accessibility to resources, and gender biases. Despite these obstacles, they have shown incredible determination to pursue their dreams in traditionally male-dominated fields like Geology, Geophysics, Mining Engineering, Metallurgy & Materials Engineering, Industrial Chemistry and other related Geoscience courses.
