About the programme

About the programme

From toothpaste to paints, and buildings to plates, the mining of industrial minerals, construction materials, dimension stones and semi-precious stones are intrinsic to everyday life. But despite their potential to impact the livelihoods of millions of people, both positively and negatively, these minerals have been neglected in development debates. The ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme will support knowledge exchange across Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific to improve the profile, and the management, of Development Minerals.    

The Programme is an initiative of African, Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Group of States, coordinated by the ACP Secretariat, financed by the European Commission and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and implemented by UNDP. This 3-year, €13.1 million capacity building program aims to:

  1. Enhance employment and incomes, including employment and incomes of women
  2. Improve the policy and regulatory environment
  3. Minimize environmental impacts on communities
  4.  Address individual and community rights and prevent conflict
  5. Ensure decent working conditions
  6. Facilitate South-South cooperation and cross-country learning

What are Development Minerals?

"Development Minerals" are minerals and materials that are mined, processed, manufactured and used domestically in industries such as construction, manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture. Development Minerals have a high degree of economic linkage and utilization close to the location where the commodity is mined and include industrial minerals, like gypsum and salt, construction materials, like sand and gravel, dimension stones, like marble and granite, and semi-precious stones, like garnet and tourmaline.

Development Minerals are sometimes referred to as Low Value Minerals and Materials due to their low price as a function of their weight, and their relatively low value to international commodity markets. The value of Development Minerals however is in their domestic use, rather than the price that they command. Despite the connotation as 'low value' Development Minerals provide crucial inputs for domestic economic development and have the potential to be high value in terms of broad-based national development.

In comparison to the metals sector, Development Minerals have closer links with the local economy, and have the potential to generate more local jobs, with a greater impact on poverty reduction. This is partly because the sector is dominated by small and medium scale domestic businesses.

The Programme is implemented at both the regional and country levels and includes: training; small grants; the production of maps and databases; review of legislation and policy; organization of community dialogues, technology fairs and networking events.

By nurturing home-grown jobs, especially those of youth and women, boosting local manufacturing and enterprise development and improving the oversight of environment, health and safety, labour and community issues, the ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme can further support ACP countries to reclaim the minerals and materials essential for domestic economic development.


Programme Steering Committee

The Program Steering Committee (PSC) is the main policy body overseeing the project implementation. The membership of the steering committee consists of representatives from the ACP Secretariat, European Commission and UNDP.

African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

  • Mr. Viwanou Gnassounou, Assistant Secretary-General (Chair)
  • Dr. Maximin Emagna, Private Sector & Investment Expert
  • Mr. Motooa Rammoneng, Intra-ACP Projects Portfolio Management Quality Support Officer

European Union

  • Mr. Antti Pekka Karhunen, Head of Unit, C4 – Private Framework Development, Trade, Regional Integration, International Cooperation and Development
  • Mr. Sergio Piazzardi, Policy officer, C4 – Private Framework Development, Trade, Regional Integration, International Cooperation and Development

United Nations Development Programme

  • Ms. Barbara Pesce-Monteiro, Director, UNDP Brussels
  • Dr. Daniel Franks, Programme Manager and Chief Technical Advisor, UNDP
  • Ms. Irene Garcia Gonzalez, Programme Advisor, UNDP Brussels

UNDP Programme Implementation Team


The UNDP Programme Implementation team consists of four (4) full-time UNDP staff based in Brussels and Addis Ababa and six (6) country coordinators located in Fiji, Jamaica, Cameroon, Guinea (Conakry), Uganda and Zambia.

  • Dr Daniel Franks, Programme Manager, Brussels
  • Lacina Pakoun, Technical Specialist, Addis Ababa
  • Caroline Ngonze, Programme Specialist, Brussels
  • Asan Amza, Operations Associate, Brussels
  • Josefa Caniogo, Coordinator – Fiji
  • Ruth Clarke, Coordinator – Jamaica
  • Moussa Charlot, Coordinator – Cameroon
  • Alpha Balde, Coordinator – Guinea
  • Hope Kyarisiima, Coordinator – Uganda
  • Lyapa Manza, Coordinator – Zambia
Meet our team

Technical Committee

The Programme Technical Committee provides advice on the production of the programme's knowledge products. The committee consists of globally recognised specialists in the fields of mining and sustainable development, representing the range of thematic areas addressed by the programme.

Focus Country Working Groups

Country Working Groups provide implementation guidance and advice on the delivery of the focus country activities. The working groups have a multi-stakeholder membership, including key implementation partners.

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