RAK Investment Authority Launches Minerals Sector Development Fund

For Immediate Release

RAS AL KHAIMAH, UAE — The RAK Investment Authority has launched a dedicated Minerals Sector Development Fund with an initial capitalisation of AED 500 million, providing finance for the development of precious metals and minerals sector businesses and infrastructure within Ras Al Khaimah and for supply chain investments connecting RAK to African and Asian producing regions.

The Fund will provide equity, quasi-equity, and debt financing to eligible projects across three categories: infrastructure development within RAKEZ's Minerals and Metals Trading Hub, supply chain investment connecting African producing nations to the RAK market, and technology and innovation projects improving the efficiency, transparency, or sustainability of the precious metals supply chain.

The supply chain investment category is particularly relevant for African gold sector development. The Fund will consider co-investment in aggregation, processing, and logistics infrastructure in African producing nations where such investment would directly strengthen and grow the gold flows connecting African producers to the RAK market. This approach creates a direct financial alignment between Ras Al Khaimah's commercial interests and the development of African gold sector capacity.

The Fund's management team includes specialists in precious metals markets, African minerals investment, and Gulf-Africa trade finance, providing the sector-specific expertise required to assess and manage investments across the diverse range of markets and asset types the Fund will consider.

"The RAK Investment Authority committing AED 500 million to minerals sector development is a substantial statement of intent. It signals that Ras Al Khaimah's ambitions in the precious metals sector are backed by meaningful capital, not simply aspiration. For African producers and aggregators looking for a Gulf partner willing to co-invest in supply chain development, the Fund creates a genuine new financing option." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold

The Fund's willingness to invest in African supply chain infrastructure addresses one of the most significant constraints on the growth of formal gold flows from African producing nations to the Gulf. The capital requirements for building the aggregation centres, processing facilities, and logistics infrastructure that underpin formal supply chains often exceed the capacity of local operators, and Gulf-based co-investment has historically been limited. The Fund's explicit mandate to invest in this area is a meaningful change.

"Supply chain development in Africa requires capital, and it requires patient capital that understands the sector and the operating environment. A fund with the RAK Investment Authority's backing, managed by a team with genuine African minerals expertise, has the potential to mobilise investments that transform the capacity of African producing nations to supply the Gulf market at scale and with the documentation and compliance standards that market requires." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold

The Fund has issued an initial call for investment proposals from RAKEZ-registered precious metals companies and from African gold sector operators with established UAE relationships, with a first investment decision expected in the second quarter of 2026.

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