Nigeria has strengthened its influence within the global shea industry following the emergence of a Nigerian as President of the Global Shea Alliance (GSA) Executive Committee and the inauguration of two other Nigerians into the committee.
The development was announced at the 2026 Global Shea Alliance Conference held in Accra, Ghana, where policymakers, processors, exporters, investors, development institutions and private sector stakeholders gathered to discuss sustainability, trade, industrialisation and investment opportunities within the shea value chain.
According to a statement issued by Diana-Mary Nsan, special assistant on Media to the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Ali Saidu, the chief executive officer of Salid Agricultural Ltd, emerged as president of the GSA Executive Committee.
Also inaugurated as Executive Committee members were Amaka Kolawole, director of Business Development and Corporate Affairs at AAK, and Yosola Onanuga, Head of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at TGI Group.
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The appointments are seen as further recognition of Nigeria's growing relevance in the global shea industry, especially as the country intensifies efforts to promote local processing and value addition rather than dependence on raw shea exports.
Stakeholders at the conference noted that Nigeria's recent policy direction aimed at restricting the export of raw shea nuts is gradually reshaping discussions around local industrialisation, traceability and long-term value retention within producing countries.
Speaking after his emergence, Saidu said the shea sector was witnessing stronger collaboration among stakeholders across the value chain, creating opportunities for enterprise growth, regional trade, financing and value-added production.
"The shea sector is evolving rapidly, and there is growing recognition that producing countries must play a stronger role beyond raw material supply," he said.
"To unlock the full economic potential of the industry, we must continue building stronger partnerships, improving access to finance for SMEs, and investing in local processing capacity that enables African countries to retain more value within the region."
Onanuga also said recent developments had strengthened global confidence in Nigeria's commitment to building a more structured and traceable shea ecosystem.
"We are beginning to see stronger alignment across governments, processors, development institutions and global buyers around the need to retain more value within producing countries," she said.
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"For Nigeria, this creates an opportunity not only to improve processing capacity, but also to strengthen traceability, quality standards and long-term sustainability across the value chain."
Participants at the conference stressed the importance of collaboration between governments, development partners and private sector operators in accelerating value addition and strengthening Africa's position in the global shea industry.
They added that increased investment in local processing, enterprise development and regional trade could help shift the sector from dependence on raw commodity exports to a more integrated and value-driven industrial economy.
