Minister of solid minerals development Dele Alake has been named African Champion of the Year by the African Professionals of Australia (APA).
The award was presented at the Australia-Africa Diaspora Investment Forum on Friday in Perth, Australia.
APA President Toyosi Craig and APA chairman Tommy Adebayo handed the award and Certificate of Recognition to Alake.
The forum was held alongside the Africa Down Under (ADU) Mining Conference and was attended by investors, professionals and government representatives, including the Ethiopian Consul General, ambassador Anwar Muktar and Nigerian Consul General, ambassador Jane Adams.
Delivering Alake’s keynote address, the managing director and chief executive officer of the Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, Martin Imonite, said the minister remains committed to reforms in the mining sector and to strengthening collaboration with African professionals across the globe.
“Nigeria, as we all know, is the economic hub of West Africa and has the young population needed to drive the emerging mining economy. In the last two years, the government has enacted many policies that make foreign direct investment easy,” he said.
The event featured panel discussions on investment, business opportunities, talent recruitment and trends in Africa.
APA was established in 2007 and has over 1,500 members from more than 20 countries in fields such as medicine, engineering, IT, law, education, accounting and community development.
