US branch of global commodities firm BGN International to launch joint digital commodity centre

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has signed an agreement with the US branch of global energy and commodities firm BGN International to launch a digital commodity centre. This will mark a first-of-its-kind platform providing a single point of access for commercial and government buyers of the country’s critical minerals. 

The initiative, governed by a new Texas domiciled company, supports the DRC government’s stated aim to improve governance, oversight, transparency, and traceability in mineral sales while curbing losses from informal circuits and unregulated intermediaries. It also incorporates fair-trade principles and support for artisanal miners, ensuring that local communities also benefit from the country’s resource wealth.  

As the world enters an AI-driven and defence-led commodities boom, demand for critical minerals, including cobalt, copper, rare earths, lithium to name a few, has surged. With China dominating production, processing and supply chains, the United States has made it a national security priority to secure diversified and transparent access to Africa’s vast reserves. This also represents a strategic shift for Gulf states as they seek to strengthen new technology sectors, build clean energy systems, and even invest in critical mineral downstream processing hubs. 

“This partnership establishes a transparent and reliable framework for accessing Africa’s mineral reserves at a time when Gulf economies are investing heavily in advanced industries — from AI, data centers, and semiconductors to next-generation clean energy plants. All of these systems depend on secure supplies of critical minerals,” said Wael Amer, Chief Operating Officer of BGN Group.

Africa holds 30% of the world’s critical mineral reserves, and the DRC alone supplies the majority of global cobalt. By leveraging platforms such as the Digital Commodity Center, the government aims to diversify exports, increase revenues, create jobs, and lead by example to realise a new era in genuine local content and value addition.

For Gulf investors and government partners, the deal represents a new angle to secure reliable supply of critical inputs for the industries of the future, with Kinshasa and Dubai positioned as complementary nodes in a global commodities value chain.