Arizona Tribune - African Heads of State to Meet New York Capital Markets Leaders at Critical Minerals Forum During UNGA Week

NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 17, 2026 / As the United States moves to secure diversified supplies of the minerals underpinning semiconductors, defense systems, batteries and the electric grid, a select group of African heads of state and senior government officials will convene with the New York capital-markets community to discuss how U.S. public markets can finance the continent's mining, processing and refining capacity.

From Mine to Markets: Financing Africa's Critical Minerals Through U.S. Capital takes place Wednesday, September 23, 2026, from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. ET at The St. Regis in Manhattan, on the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The invitation-only forum is hosted by MSM Frontier Capital Acquisition Corporation and organized by AUM Advisors. Attendance is limited to approximately 100 guests.

Africa holds a substantial share of the world's copper, cobalt, lithium, manganese, uranium, tantalum and platinum-group metals. Yet the capital required to finance these resources and bring them to market at scale has too often stayed on the sidelines. U.S. public markets have begun to close that gap: critical minerals have been among the most active sectors for SPAC mergers, producing listed vehicles with the currency to pursue acquisitions across mining, processing and refining.

The forum is structured so that participants can engage in topical and credible conversations on where the opportunities and the risks reside in some of the continent's most dynamic economies, and get a better understanding from African leaders on the relationships to the capital and expertise needed to finance value addition.

CONFIRMED AFRICAN DELEGATIONS

H.E. William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto, CGH - President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces

H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud - President of the Federal Republic of Somalia

H.E. Abiy Ahmed Ali - Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

H.E. Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu, GCFR - President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces

Rt. Hon. Justin Nsengiyumva - Prime Minister of the Republic of Rwanda

H.E. Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu - Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)

His Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II (Sanusi Lamido Sanusi) - Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria

Dr. Mansur Muhtar - Economist and former Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

They will be joined by ministers of mines, finance and energy, senior officials from resource-rich nations across West, East, Southern and North Africa, and leaders of the continent's regional bodies and development-finance institutions.

Additional delegations will be announced as the program is finalized.

U.S. CAPITAL MARKETS SPEAKERS

Adam S. Namoury - Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLP - A New York-based corporate lawyer whose practice centers on special purpose acquisition companies, private equity and public and private M&A. He has advised on SPAC business combinations across energy, battery technology and mining, including transactions involving African and rare-earth mining assets.

Joseph A. Riggio - Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Jett Capital Advisors - A founding partner of Jett Capital and Managing Partner of the firm's Investment Banking Committee, with more than 20 years structuring transactions for global natural resources and energy companies. He previously led the Capital Markets Division at Casimir Capital and holds a degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mitchell S. Nussbaum - Co-Chair, Loeb & Loeb LLP - Founder and co-chair of the firm's SPACs practice, he has represented issuers and underwriters in hundreds of SPAC public offerings and business combinations over more than 20 years, with a particular focus on cross-border listings by international companies on U.S. exchanges.

Patrick A. Sturgeon - Managing Partner, Brookline Capital Markets - Leads the firm's public financing, private capital raising, secondary and capital markets advisory businesses, with a focus on the SPAC effort as both an IPO underwriter and M&A advisor. He was previously a Managing Director at Axiom Capital Management and spent roughly a decade at Freeman & Co. advising on financial services M&A. He holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and an M.B.A. in finance from New York University.

Additional speakers will be announced in the days ahead as the program is finalized.

WHAT TO EXPECT

• Direct access - African heads of state, ministers and senior leaders speaking and taking questions in a room of roughly 100.
• Independent perspective - A country-risk and rule-of-law assessment from an independent risk advisory, not a sales pitch.
• Two moderated sessions - A panel of African executives and political leaders on the opportunity on the ground, and a panel of SPAC sponsors and bankers on the pathway to U.S. markets.

Sectors in focus: Copper · Cobalt · Lithium · Manganese · Uranium · Tantalum · Titanium · Iron ore · Potash · Platinum-group metals · Gold · Oil & gas

PROGRAM

All times Eastern. Program subject to change.

WHO ATTENDS

• African delegations - Heads of state, ministers of mines, finance and energy, and senior officials from resource-rich nations, together with leaders of regional bodies and development-finance institutions.
• Business principals - African executives in mining, energy, processing and infrastructure.
• U.S. capital markets - SPAC sponsors, underwriters, trustees, institutional investors and specialist counsel from the New York public-markets community.
• Media - A limited number of invited financial and policy journalists.

EVENT DETAILS

REGISTRATION

Attendance is by invitation and subject to approval. To request an invitation, visit www.africacriticalmineralsforum.com/register. Requests are reviewed within two business days. Space is limited. For the full program and further information about the forum, visit www.africacriticalmineralsforum.com.

ABOUT MSM FRONTIER CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORPORATION

MSM Frontier Capital Acquisition Corporation is a New York-based company focused on connecting African countries with U.S. and international capital to develop the continent's natural resources responsibly and add value on the continent.

ABOUT AUM ADVISORS

AUM Advisors is a New York investor-relations and capital-markets advisory firm with experience across more than 100 IPOs and SPAC transactions. The firm is the organizer of the Europe SPAC Summit and the Japan Go IPO Summit.

MEDIA CONTACT

Crocker Coulson
CEO, AUM Advisors
[email protected]
+1 (646) 652-7185 (mobile/WhatsApp)

SOURCE: Japan Go IPO Summit

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

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