Africa holds much of the world’s gold and critical-mineral resources, yet this wealth rarely reaches the host communities or economies. Investment is intensifying as global demand for energy- and digital-transition minerals grows, but capital remains concentrated in large, later-stage mines, established operators and downstream infrastructure. Earlier-stage, smaller-scale, locally owned and mining-adjacent enterprises are routinely overlooked, even though they are essential to producing minerals responsibly, keeping more value in-country, diversifying local economies and steadying supply. Drawing on Levin Sources’ 2025–26 work for the Soros Economic Development Fund—which identified around 140 candidates, assessed 76 across 22 African countries and engaged more than 80 stakeholders—this paper shows that the central problem is not a shortage of capital, but a mismatch between conventional investment requirements and the realities of African mineral economies.
The paper identifies six emerging fund concepts where patient, catalytic capital could address these structural gaps and build commercially viable markets. These are:
- a dedicated fund for artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM);
- a mining-economies upliftment fund supporting local suppliers, shared infrastructure and community enterprise;
- a follow-on finance vehicle to bridge the donor cliff;
- a responsible-production technology fund;
- an integrated tailings, rehabilitation and post-mining land-use fund; and
- a women-focused access-to-finance fund or investment sleeve.
Across these opportunities, investees commonly fall into a “missing middle”: too large or complex for microfinance, but too small, early or operationally intensive for institutional investors. The answer is to combine appropriately sized finance with technical assistance, local intermediaries, safeguards and patient follow-on capital. Done well, this can help formalise enterprises, improve environmental and social performance, reduce reliance on exploitative informal finance and create investable pipelines for mainstream capital.
This paper therefore calls on investors to broaden their focus from individual mines to the mineral systems that make production resilient, responsible and locally beneficial. Catalytic capital providers are well placed to move first because their longer time horizons, greater tolerance for early risk and explicit social and environmental mandates allow them to support enterprises and market infrastructure before conventional mining capital can engage; conventional investors can then follow into de-risked businesses, proven models and stronger mining economies. The immediate priority is a revolving ASM fund paired with a technical-assistance facility, initially focused on gold and designed to address financing needs that often cluster around USD 2–5 million, while also enabling smaller-scale financial inclusion. More broadly, progress will require shared investment structures and partnerships that align impact and commercial capital with local-content, gender, human-rights and environmental objectives, so that mineral development strengthens supply security while generating durable prosperity, stability and opportunity in producing regions.
