Deap Capital Rebrands to CMFC, Signalling Strategic Pivot to Critical Minerals Financing and African Mining Overhaul
Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc has officially completed its corporate name change to Critical Minerals Financing Corp Plc (CMFC), a strategic evolution that positions the entity as a specialised group focused on mining, metals, commodities finance, and investment. This transition, finalised after securing all necessary regulatory approvals and filings, places CMFC at the nexus of Nigeria’s financial and commercial landscape, with ambitions to expand across the entire critical minerals value chain. The company has also relocated its corporate headquarters to Victoria Island, Lagos, as indicated in a recent regulatory filing with the Nigerian Exchange.
Lamon Rutten, Chairman of Critical Minerals Financing Corp Plc, articulated that this rebranding signifies a sharpened focus on capital structuring, investment banking, transaction advisory, project development support, and tailored financing solutions for stakeholders within the minerals and commodities sector. Rutten, whose background includes serving as a founding Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Mining Exchange and the Mumbai Commodity Exchange, stated that the transition heralds an exciting new phase for the company. “We are strategically positioned to deliver world-class capital structuring, advisory, and financing solutions to mining and metals companies operating across gold, copper, cobalt, lithium, tungsten, tin, tantalum, and other critical mineral sectors,” he remarked.
CMFC’s strategy is designed to address the substantial financing and transaction-structuring deficit prevalent in Africa’s mining industry. This is to be achieved by integrating global financial acumen with deep sector-specific knowledge and fostering strategic partnerships. Dr. Israel Ovirih, President & Co-CEO of Critical Minerals Financing Corp Plc, highlighted that the company is actively fortifying its governance, operational, and financial frameworks in preparation for its next growth trajectory. CMFC intends to leverage strategic alliances, regional expansion, and active participation in large-scale mining and commodities transactions across Africa to unlock value for national economic development and deliver sustainable returns to its stakeholders.
The company plans to collaborate closely with mining firms, commodity traders, institutional investors, development finance institutions, governments, and international partners to cultivate a dynamic ecosystem conducive to industrial development, beneficiation, and export growth. CMFC’s leadership believes Africa is uniquely positioned to emerge as a preeminent global supplier of strategic mineral resources, driven by escalating worldwide demand for critical minerals essential for energy transition technologies, battery manufacturing, advanced industrial applications, and renewable energy infrastructure.
Shareholders of DEAPCAP had unanimously approved this comprehensive transformation into Critical Minerals Financing Corporation Plc, envisioned as Africa’s premier private-sector minerals finance group, during their annual general meeting in Ikeja, Lagos, in March 2026. The resolutions passed at this well-attended meeting included the company’s name change, strategic restructuring, global capital raising initiatives, enterprise transformation programmes, and the empowerment of the board to forge domestic and international alliances, thereby ushering in a new era for Africa’s mining sector focused on home-grown value addition and shared prosperity.
Banklink Africa Private Equities Limited, the new core investor in CMFC, has injected approximately N6 billion into the company as part of a strategic recapitalisation effort aimed at positioning CMFC for sustained growth. CMFC is poised to deploy its enhanced resources and expertise to fully realise and valorise a pipeline of transactions initially within Nigeria, with subsequent expansion across the African continent. The company has also attracted significant investment commitments from high-net-worth global investors based in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Europe, with ongoing efforts to explore further investment commitments worldwide.
Rutten elaborated on the company’s outlook, anticipating substantial multiplier effects on Africa’s global standing by domesticating value derived from the continent’s natural resources. This will be achieved through the comprehensive optimisation of the minerals value chain. He noted that CMFC, with its Nigerian origins, will progressively build its business by identifying and pursuing immediate opportunities within Nigeria’s minerals sector, using this experience as a testament to its competence and potential to attract other African economies. The emergence of CMFC aligns directly with Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda, offering a pathway to deepen economic growth and disseminate prosperity through the optimisation of critical mineral value chains.
CMFC’s investment strategy will encompass the entire minerals value chain. In the upstream segment, the company will engage in exploration funding, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, mine development and expansion, as well as mechanisation and fleet financing. For the midstream segment, CMFC will facilitate funding for refining and smelting operations, beneficiation plants, processing infrastructure, and the manufacturing of concentrates and intermediate products. The downstream cycle will be completed with bespoke financing solutions for operators, including commodity trading, long-term offtake partnerships, metal storage and logistics, and resource-backed financing instruments, thereby ensuring a comprehensive valorisation of the minerals sector with profound national economic benefits. Rutten concluded by highlighting that despite Africa possessing over 30 per cent of global mineral reserves, these resources remain largely underexplored and undercapitalised. However, the increasing private sector interest in exploration and beneficiation presents a critical opportunity to bridge the financing gap that has historically hindered the continent’s growth.
