Mining Indaba - Olivier Pognon

Olivier Pognon

Director & CEO African Legal Support

Olivier is an international lawyer with two decades’ experience, including in project finance, telecommunications, and international development. He is currently the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF), where he oversees the Facility’s support to African governments in the areas of natural resources, energy, infrastructure PPPs and sovereign finance.

Prior to joining the ALSF, Olivier was the Chief Legal Officer of Airtel Africa Plc, a London Stock Exchange listed company, and before that senior counsel for the MTN Group. He also has wide-ranging experience from his previous employment with Agence Française de Développement, EY Law, and the international law firms CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre and Mayer Brown in Paris.

Agenda Sessions

Keynote Panel: Unlocking the future of African mining through balanced contracts

Many African countries have yet to maximise the true value of their mineral resources since gaining independence. This is related to issues such as weak governance, limited knowledge, limited assessment or control of their mineral resources or geodata to underpin negotiations, inadequate capacity, and unfair contracts. Poorly negotiated contracts often lead to poor outcomes for the environment, host communities, civil society, governments, investors, and lenders. Bad contracts and outcomes also hinder mining investment, and affect the supply of important minerals and the stability and security of the mining value chain. Nonetheless, because Africa hosts significant reserves of the minerals required for the energy transition mining, mining on the continent is expected to expand in the foreseeable future, boding well for the future – not least through contracts that are fairer to the owners of the mineral resources.

Wednesday 08 February 11:00 - 12:00 Main Stage

Main Stage

Add to calendar 02/08/2023 11:00 02/08/2023 12:00 Keynote Panel: Unlocking the future of African mining through balanced contracts Many African countries have yet to maximise the true value of their mineral resources since gaining independence. This is related to issues such as weak governance, limited knowledge, limited assessment or control of their mineral resources or geodata to underpin negotiations, inadequate capacity, and unfair contracts. Poorly negotiated contracts often lead to poor outcomes for the environment, host communities, civil society, governments, investors, and lenders. Bad contracts and outcomes also hinder mining investment, and affect the supply of important minerals and the stability and security of the mining value chain. Nonetheless, because Africa hosts significant reserves of the minerals required for the energy transition mining, mining on the continent is expected to expand in the foreseeable future, boding well for the future – not least through contracts that are fairer to the owners of the mineral resources. Main Stage Europe/London

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