Transformers
Transformers is a deep dive into the dynamic landscape of Africa's energy and natural resources future.
We chat with mining, renewable energy, power, and oil and gas professionals and companies as they embark on transforming Africa’s natural resources for its economic development.
Should you be keen on learning about the opportunities in Africa, or curious about how similar companies are operating in your field then this is the pod for you. We also ask our guests about their professional journeys.
To partner with us or if you're doing business in this sector in Africa, and would like to be featured, reach out to us at pod@c-imm.com
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Transformers
Africans for Africa: Reclaiming the Narrative, Rebuilding the Future
Guest: Tim Tokun, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Africans for Africa
In this thought-provoking episode of the AFNIS Transformers Podcast, we sit down with Tim Tokun, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Africans for Africa Initiative - a bold movement that’s flipping the script on mining development in Africa.
Africans for Africa isn’t just about raising funds - it’s about raising confidence, capital, and collective agency among Africans on the continent and in the diaspora.
In this deep-dive conversation, Tim unpacks the origins of the initiative, its mission to build a borderless investment community, and the practical ways it’s unlocking African-led solutions to African challenges.
Whether you're an investor, policymaker, entrepreneur, or simply passionate about Africa’s future, this episode will challenge your assumptions - and invite you into a growing community that believes Africa can fund its own future, on its own terms.
If interested in being one of our guest on the show or would like to reach out to any of our guests then please email pod@c-imm.com.
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SPEAKER_00:Hello everyone and welcome again to today's series of AFNI's Transformers podcast. My name is Felicia Adairu and I will be your host today. Today we'll be looking at a topic called Africans for Africa, reclaiming the narrative, rebuilding the future. So in this thought provoking episode of the AFNI's Transformers podcast, we will be interacting with a mining professional. Tim Tokun, who is the co-founder and managing director of the Africans for Africa Initiative. It's a bold movement that's flipping the script of mine development in Africa. So a bit of Africans for Africans. Africans for Africans isn't just about raising funds. It's about raising confidence, capital, and collective agency among Africans on the continent and in the diaspora. So in this deep-dive conversation today, Tim unpacks the origins of this initiative, its mission to build a borderless investment community, and the practical ways it's unlocking Africa-led solutions to Africa's challenges. So whether you're an investor, a policymaker, entrepreneur, or simply passionate about Africa's future, In this episode, we challenge your assumptions and invite you into a growing community that believes Africa can fund its own future on its own terms. So again, good afternoon and welcome, Mr. Afton.
SPEAKER_01:Good afternoon, Felicia. Hope I meet you well and thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, thank you so much. It's a pleasure to have you here today. So let's start with your story. what's personal or professional journey led you to go fund africans for africa
SPEAKER_01:okay um a bunch of things but taking it from the from the very top i have been in the mining sector now for two decades and of course in that time i've seen a lot of things in the space one recurring theme has been the lack of african particip representation african equity in development projects across the continent Almost from top of mind, I can reel off 100 projects that have gone from grassroots to close to$2 billion valuation over the course of less than a decade. And you'll see the statement that I just touched on very, very eminent. Although Africa boasts many private equity funds, even quite a lot of venture capital funds, there still isn't one single mining focus equity fund, such as what you have in the West as APNR2 Resources, Orion, the Palinghurst Resource Capital Funds, Stifel. They have so many options there. But in Africa, none exists. So in 2020, I think, given the downtime we all had with COVID, it dawned on me very hard that I had to, that over the course of, say, a three-year window, I had gone on to identify seven projects over a three-year window, as I said, and I had ticked them for certain success. You know, I could see that this race would really come of age. But alas, each and every one of these projects went on to become stunning successes. Each one had gone from zero to reaching a minimum$500 million valuation. some of them over a billion-dollar valuation, you know, all within a decade of their formation. And my technical analysis, which is really my background, is really largely technical. My technical analysis coupled with my own innate sense for mineral deposits had given me that confidence that this may well happen. Of course, they've gone on to even smash my expectations. I'll set an example for you. I went to study a project in Ghana in June 2021 on behalf of a client. On the day I left the project, its stock was trading at 21 cents. The merits of the mineralization and the deposit was very, very vivid to me. Albeit, as with most things mining, you have to tweak things. I recommended the project to the investors. They didn't take the advice. By March 2022, the said project had stopped trading at$1.90. That is so many multiples from just several months prior. Sadly, at that point, all the investors were no longer Africans. And the price has gone on to record an average revenue of$750 million per annum, year on year. Of course, this year, that revenue is going to shoot up by at least 30% because of the very, very high gold prices. So a combination of these events galvanized me to the point where I knew I had to go about setting up my own fund with the right philosophy, managed by the by the by the right professionals with the right experiences so i think that's that's what that's that's been the the journey to to get into the point we're at now with the africans for africa
SPEAKER_00:good motivation thank you thank you for sharing that with us i think that's quite inspiring so there are a lot of initiatives across board right so what was that aha moment that made you feel This initiative was not just needed, but urgent.
SPEAKER_01:A crescendo of events such as what I just described, but sincere urgency came about with the advent of the critical metals, I'd say. I am so certain that the way we consume and therefore produce energy has got to be, without a doubt, humankind's next big adventure. And this is being powered by metals, unlike we've ever seen. This transition is amplified by a renewed vigor toward an undisrupted supply chain for military applications, a renewed vigor toward technology and the whole AI coming into play, all metal-powered. When you take a look at these different indices, it paints a very simple but rather ominous picture for the groups that are left out of the revolution. Also, if a dominant percentage of these metals emanate from your own soil, I mean, this for me is damning. For me, irresponsible and largely calamitous on the part of leaderships. How often have the metal stories on your TV screen, your YouTube screen in the past five to six months, daily now, never before has the world seen this amount of exposure and headlining from the metal sector. Without a seat at the table, this continent will be an observer yet again. I think we really cannot... afford that consequence because it will be a long-lasting debilitating effect on the next generation. We really cannot afford it. I can't emphasize enough that we can't afford it.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Thank you so much. So my next question would then be, you call AFA, that's Africans for Africa Now, a movement and not just a platform. So what does that even mean? And what's the broader vision
SPEAKER_01:It's a movement because it's all inclusive. Of course, it rests on the platform, but here we want the participation of everyone. I want the participation of the guy that fixes my car, the guy that fixes my air conditioning. We want Africans, all Africans and persons of African descent and frontline communities for the most part. for a change to enjoy the fruits of their mineral wealth. You know, if you take a look at the African story again, you'll see areas across the continent where there has been very heavy industrial scale operations that's run in those axes for the last 70, 80 years. But then when you take a look at the frontline communities upon which these resources actually reside, you cannot reconcile the two. the frontline communities remain extremely impoverished, remain completely undeveloped, yet on an annual basis,$800 million,$1 billion leave that same community soil. headed for the global north. I think, again, there is going to be a large call to arms for change here. So we are making this all inclusive. We want everybody. We're 1.4 billion of us. And from a statistic I saw recently, in the next by 2030, one out of every five people will be African. That is incredible. So we have all the numbers, all the numbers, and we are a very endowed continent. So, you know, we want everybody to be a participant in the upside that is mineral wealth creation.
SPEAKER_00:So thank you. And I think what resonated so well with me in this conversation is the fact that inclusion is key. And like everyone will agree with me, inclusion is the bedrock of sustainable development. So how does the AFA philosophy differ from traditional development or investment models focused on Africa?
SPEAKER_01:Development institutions typically are not ever wholly indigenous. you know, not because they don't, perhaps, I mean, how they're set up just doesn't allow for that to happen. At Afrikaans for Africa, we seek an entirely indigenous stakeholder. I'm of the school of thought that the global north have done their bit for this continent as far as the threshold and nature of the investments go. You know, I think... They cannot do it all. That is the truth. I think a lot of African leadership has expected them to come and build it all for us. And that's, for me, a view in a very, very wrong place, hence where we are now. They've done their bit. Now it is incumbent on us to co-invest alongside them. And you know what? What people don't realize is this this Western and Eastern and Asian companies. They actually genuinely welcome this. People don't realize that. These guys, they want African equity in the projects that they develop in Africa because know it's like you and i speaking now you say hey tim i have a project i need a hundred dollars and to to build it all up and make it whole and um can you give me the hundred dollars and i say well you know how about i give you 70 you bring 30 because then i see that you have skin in the game and then you you have a lot to use yourself and you know it is then highly incumbent on you to ensure that this thing passes the smell test and see the light of day because you are also highly invested from a financial standpoint. And that is what we have to be doing. That hasn't been happening. Hence, the ownership of these tenements on African soil have been so, so heavily skewed toward the investors who have not been Africans.
SPEAKER_00:So great. I mean, When we talk about Africans for Africa, apparently we're talking about indigenous stakeholders. And so in your conversation, you've emphasized borderless investment community. So how does AFA bring together local and diaspora capital?
SPEAKER_01:Personally, I don't see a significant or material difference in the two demographics as regards the level of awareness we at A4A have to continue to create. The mining sector is, for the most part, opaque to most people outside of it. And the onus is on us to educate our audience about what the sector is genuinely about. We have to show them certain long-standing inequities and clearly entomizing just how much value we lose by crying on as we have been. So the constructs and subsequently the paradigm simply have to change. Simply have to change.
SPEAKER_00:Great. So now let's shift a little bit to project prioritization. I know you're a mining expert. I mean, you've been in this sector, like you said, for almost two decades now. More than
SPEAKER_01:two decades.
SPEAKER_00:More than two decades. Now, in prioritizing projects, do you have specific sectors you work with or themes that are the center of AFH's pipeline? Or, I mean, you just work with all the sectors?
SPEAKER_01:Right. Yeah, I mean, our selection criteria, the typical risk assessment parameters, such as any investment house taken into consideration, the peculiarities of mining, the nuances of mining, which has been mostly lost on the regular African investor. Jurisdiction stability is a big thing in this type of business. And, you know, we are fortunate that FOA, via our strategic alliance with the African Mineral Strategy Group, have signed a collaboration agreement with... with 16 African states. And an underlying charter in those agreements is governmental cooperation and stability assurance. Because our region is not always very stable. We have coups sprouting up here or there. We've seen a couple of African governments in recent times almost aiming to practice resource nationalism. You know, this is not exactly the way to go because you still have to continue to inspire investor confidence. So we have gone on ahead to sign these agreements with these African states and we intend to increase that membership very similar to what the African Finance Corporation have done over the many years they've been operational. They currently have about 44 member states, I think. And, you know, we will get there. But it's a very good start for us because we're already at 16 going on going on 20 soon i think i think some very good and encouraging talks are underway and looking like they would indeed get us across the across the line there and that's that's that's important because then you know this this african states governments um then see us as as partners because ultimately you know you need government on your side to make these things work. You need government stability. You need the government stability assurance that they're not going to change the chatter on you just down the track. Because as you know, mining investment is not ever going to be, it doesn't come in cheap. It's not at a pittance. To build a mine these days,$250 million has become a staple. So you're going to build this thing over the course of many years with so much capital, with so much effort, other people's money. You want to ensure that this money is very secure. So government support is critical. um our pipeline covers a broad base uh as you'd imagine the usual suspects of critical metals for energy security renewables and rare earth elements which you would have seen a lot of on television in recent times for national security you know military applications nuclear power enhancements and of course precious metals um everybody talks gold gold but hey In 2024, all silver stocks were some of the best performing stocks. And last I checked, Goldman Sachs outlook for gold is at$3,800 per ounce by the end of this year. That's incredible. If you think about the fact that when I came into the sector, I think 2003 now, gold was trading at$300,000 an ounce. So we've come in leaps and bounds from that point to now. and it's become a very lucrative business. Other energy supporting elements are also of great interest to us, such as uranium, which, strangely enough, has now been declared a clean energy source and playing a huge part in the voracious electricity consumption of AI. Not sure that most people are aware of this, but as we speak, there are 65 nuclear reactors being constructed globally. and many others requiring an extension to reactor life. So, you know, although uranium is at the centerfold all over again, we'll be taking a close look at this type of projects.
SPEAKER_00:Wow, interesting. Thank you. And I do agree with you that we all need the government support, especially when it comes to the use of doing business. Now, talking about trust, I'm going to give a quote that says, Trust is the foundation of every meaningful relationship and lasting partnership. It is earned through consistency, integrity, and shared focus. Now for AFA, what safeguards are in place to build trust, especially with local contributors and diaspora stakeholders?
SPEAKER_01:It's a big thing. There was a headline topic for us at the very beginning of our coming together as a group. We are going to go over and beyond to ensure transparency. The scripting will be there and justifiably so. So every penny invested will be received and warehoused by a licensed fund manager. Our fund managers are operating within the auspices of regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commissions, therefore subject to every manner of scrutiny and declaration that ensures total compliance and subsequent adherence with regulatory controls. So, you know, stakeholders will be given a very clear view, a dashboard, 360-degree view, actually, of all the opportunities we bring to the table. And our technical teams, our mineral economic teams will be there to provide shadow tutorials to investor audiences. And we want people to be well-informed. I, as a person, one of my pastime passions is educating people in the mineral business. I do it for free, too, pro bono. Because, as I say, there's strength in numbers. The more people that understand what it is this is about, the bigger the canvas can become. and that is critical to the development of anything. But mining has, because of its very unique, peculiar nature, people just haven't really got their heads around how it is. It's very scientific and very inexact science for that matter. So we want our stakeholders to be very informed, informed enough to select the asset classes they wish to participate in. We will provide guidance. We have all the indices. We have all the history of whatever metal it is. We have the projections for the future of it. But ultimately, the decision has to be theirs.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, so transparency is key to building trust. Thank you for reacquiring that. Now, let's look at Africa in the global context. What do you think traditional needs, sorry, traditional models of financing Africa through age objects, why do they keep failing? And because a lot of times we feel, oh, the best way to finance our project in Africa is either through age objects. So why do you think, it seems it's not working for people, for us as a continent. So why do you think this keeps failing?
SPEAKER_01:The dreaded word AIDS for Africa. Those things just don't work. You know, history has shown us they just don't work. I don't think they will ever work. They're not well marshaled and subsequently the entire scope gets caught up in governmental clause, which is more often than not a hornet's nest of corruption. so a lot of people in our neck of the woods god bless them view it as personal gifts so for me we just have to you know move on to what would work because the government narratives haven't worked with the two instruments you mentioned. So it's time we try something else. Africa don't need aid. We have humongous God-given resources and we just have to roll up our sleeves, be committed, have the concerted efforts and get these things appropriately appraised. And I believe monetization will become seamless. Africa don't need aid. I'm so, so certain of that. So yeah, I would pack those two models, the debt coming from, because they call it debt, and you're supposed to pay it back with a premium, but take a look at what's happened across the continent. you know the chinese in china gave all kinds of debt to to zambia and they collateralize those things against their ports against their airports against their seaports i think when you let a foreign power uh control such things and you know you you are you are far worse off than you were before they they got involved with you so i think we can do this thing organically within ourselves. We have the means for it. We have the intellectual capacity. We have the headcount for it. And more importantly, the one you cannot negotiate. We have the resources given to us by God. Now, if you have that, then the rest is upon you to build the structures that will make it whole.
SPEAKER_00:You are absolutely right. I mean, Africa is rich, enormously rich in mineral resources. So our government needs to start rethinking the financial models away from debt, away from financial aid. I totally agree with you. So we have different OGS categories that will be listening to this podcast. So what would your message be to international development institutions about how they can partner with initiatives like HFA?
SPEAKER_01:Personally, I haven't thought about them way too much. Maybe some of my partners have done. Personally, I haven't because, again, I'm trying to ensure that I stay on message. And right now, my focus and concentration and prayer is to get my own people on side, first and foremost, before I go to international parties. But, hey, we have to, I guess, we have to look into the future and say, look, at the opportune moment, we're happy to talk about equitable collaboration. You know what I mean? That's the song for me, equitable collaboration. But for us, it would be too early. We're more focused on let's dig deep within ourselves and put something together that is that would would um would pass the litmus test i think first and foremost the international guys will come without a doubt and you know i personally have a lot of relationship with them anyhow so you know it'd be good let's let's um let them gauge how how we develop this this same story and um In due course, there will be some sort of convergence. Yes, I suppose. I mean, in fact, I do expect so, but I'm not thinking too much about them just yet. I'm thinking more about the Africans.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, it's actually Africans for Africa. So I totally agree. And now let's talk about movement building and scaling. You're not just building a fund. You're building a mindset. And you agree with me, this is almost like the toughest part of any journey. So what's the toughest part? of that choice for you.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I mean, the messaging has to be consistent and resonating. And we must remain indefatigable in this quest. It's not going to be easy. It won't happen at the speed of light. Stamina, resilience will be the winners. but because each and every one of us at A4A, from my co-founder, Sliman Zachary, to our head of marketing, Natibol Troko, to our project implementation teams, our marketing teams, to our advisory board, which we are very proud of, by the way. We've been able to assemble a 12-man advisory board, so a 12-man and a woman advisory board at this point that has got proper representation across the continent. We've been able to bring on board executives in the mining space, executives in the mining finance space, executives in the policy space across four regions of the continent in a very short period of time. That shows you there is a strong belief and there's that strong awareness that it is high time. So to have all of these things I've narrated. Some people would go on the advisory board. To be honest with you, even within ourselves, we were surprised at how quickly they were prepared to jump on this bandwagon. But then that tells you its own story, that this is almost, this is self-explanatory. What we're trying to fix here is not rocket science. So to be able to do that, you know, I think we're all singing from the same song sheet. And I see this initiative as, for me, the first universal agreement amongst Africans. So we're not spending a lot of time shirking the task. No, no, we're really seeing the challenges. Because if you're going to shake the task, you shouldn't get started at all. So we are all about, hey, what's the next hurdle to cross? And we take it head on with total vigor.
SPEAKER_00:So you mentioned the word now, that's consistency, which I believe is key to unlocking potentials. And talking about consistency, how do you sustain the momentum, especially across companies geographies and demographics.
SPEAKER_01:Thank God we're in the advanced age of information superhighway, as I like to call it. We lean heavily on the power of the internet and keep things consistent and resonating like a touched on just now. We are blessed with a very clever, ingenious and hardworking marketing team. And that's augmented by our own willingness to hit the pavement and go on global roadshows to interact with stakeholders. It doesn't matter where they are. We don't have an audience there. We have a captive audience with density. We're happy to get out there to talk to stakeholders and potentials very quickly too. So yeah, we march on in that regard. It's... It's a triple-edged sword, not a double-edged
SPEAKER_00:one. Consistency and innovation together. I think I can just summarize your thoughts based on that. So earlier, you know, we talked about government support for AAV and, I mean, all the business that we do. But what role do you think African governments and institutions play in this ecosystem? Are they allies or skeptics or both?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, like I touched on earlier, the governments are there to provide the stability to the projects, to ensure that, you know, look, at the end of the day, I am from a certain state in Nigeria, and even if I was going to invest in my estate, I'm not going to say because it's my estate, I'm going to throw caution to the winds. I'm going to hope that the government of my state is going to be supportive of my proceeds. And then I'm going to, you know, jettison my project or throw policies as monkey wrenches in my path as I develop the narrative. So, yeah, government is critical. They are the regulators. You know, they're the, you know, the governor, as a matter of fact. So we need their support. In terms of them being allies or skeptics, for now, we have met far more allies than skeptics, to be honest with you. Far more allies than skeptics. And like anything else, you're getting off the ground in life. You are bound to have people who don't see the way you see it. I think that's a cause of nature. So as far as I'm concerned, the skeptics that are presently available, which are not a lot in terms of representation, but trust me, they will be converted in due course. We'll have mostly allies than skeptics and then the match goes on. I'm fairly confident of this.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I totally agree with that. So we've been having this conversation for the past 30 minutes or so now. Let's just reflect on all that has been said. I mean, before we started this conversation, I went to the website. I went online and I checked EFA's website. So for someone who is listening to us now and wants to be part of EFA, whether they are in Lagos or any part of the world, in London, Australia, wherever, what can they do today?
SPEAKER_01:They should, without much ado, visit afainitiative.org. registration that site should be live by close of business today and they should stick this in a calendar and you know they'll receive automatic notification for account setups when this phone site actually launches at the at the end of this month of may so again foainitiative.org that gets you registered and you know seeing that in the calendar and your notifications will pop up uh once we once we launch the the the fun site in approximately 24 days' time.
SPEAKER_00:AFAinitiative.org. Yeah, I'm signing up right after this conversation with you. Thank you. Excellent. So what keeps you going on hard is, I mean, there is no project or there is no one that is not going through one to know the other, no matter how smooth it might be at the beginning. There's always that thing, like the hold of the cross. So what keeps you going on those hard days? On those hard days, rather, on hard days?
SPEAKER_01:Well, I mean, as a person, my greatest motivations have always been purpose, a little bit of purpose, a bigger purpose than whatever it is that's happening around me. So knowing I'm on the runway toward helping create a movement that will transcend generations. Make history. fix historical iniquities, institute a decent level of parity to the playing field so that the continent of 1.4 billion and growing people can indeed feel the positive impact of their God-given mineral endowment. These possibilities are all of the Philip I need on a hard day. Despite the fact that I don't really, I think maybe I'm fortunate that way, maybe it's a mindset thing. I'm a chap of sunny disposition to life. So I look on the bright side more often than anything else. So, you know, hard days, I don't think. There's only something good in the day. So I rather lean on that than the other.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. To always look at the brighter side of life.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you. So let's look into the future a little bit and let's fast forward into 10 years from now. What does success look for you for Africans for half a time?
SPEAKER_01:10 years, right? I'm... I'm taking it in five-year tranches. Five-year tranches. I'm supposed to ten. In five years, we would have mobilized capital into a minimum of three African-led, African-owned projects. To the strangers of the mining space, when they hear this, they may think, only three? Okay. I say minimum of three, of course, but three, that would have been a major strike for us because today you can count on one hand how many African-led, African-owned mining projects exist on the continent, on one hand, in the entire 100-plus year history of this business being conducted on our continent. So you can see that when we say that within five years we want to have three up and running, owned and led by Africans, it has been a groundbreaking stride. So, you know, when we talk capital mobilized, we mean funding these projects from discovery to mine construction into production. We will also aim to have done several rounds of dividend payments to all our stakeholders at a 5x multiple to them. And hopefully on our third fund, in that time frame um that that's the icing on the cake of that uh the on the on that cake rather would be that at that point we want to be saying to ourselves that we we are we have a clear line of sight to a one billion dollar close because that's the that's the that's the um for end game for for african support at this point so we believe that in in that year five we'll have clear visibility to that$1 billion clause. Alongside other things I just
SPEAKER_00:mentioned. Okay. Thank you, Tim, for sharing your future goals with us. I mean, everyone will agree with me that it's been an enlightening conversation. So we're going to wrap now. But before we wrap, you said something odd while that collaboration is key, right? So I'm going to, I want to demonstrate how collaboration works now. I really want to test you. So all those say statements, right? Which is going to be my final word for this conversation. But it's going to be half statements and then you complete with the other half in your own words. Is that clear?
SPEAKER_01:I will try.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. So can I go now? Go
SPEAKER_01:ahead. All right.
SPEAKER_00:Africa will rise when...
SPEAKER_01:Africa will rise when... Maybe you should do me the honors, but hey, subject interpretation. I say Africa will rise when Africa for Africa is fully instituted, is in play.
SPEAKER_00:Great. Africa will rise when Africans for Africa is fully instituted. Thank you so much, team. It's been a pleasure having this conversation with you and learning from you, especially on how Africa can fund its own future on its own terms. It's a pleasure speaking with you and we wish you and your organization the best.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you very much, Felicia. It's been good talking to you. Thank you.
UNKNOWN:Thank you.