Feminist Reflections #2 DEZ. 2018 BEYOND EXTRACTIVISM: Feminist alternatives for a socially and gender just development in Africa Zo Randriamaro T he current extractivist development model is in crisis on the African continent. After the shining discourse of an“Africa rising” to prosperity and being able to free itself from the colonial dependencies and the claws of poverty through the exploration of it’s resources, the socio-economic realities of African people did not really change for the better. Economic growth did not translate into welfare, did not transform the living conditions for the majority of African people or free Africans from exploitation by creating decent jobs. Much on the contrary, the kind of capitalist development that is taken forward in the countries of the continent, is broadening the divide between rich and poor, deepening conflicts on land and furthering militarism and authoritarianism. This paper provides an analysis of the current development models from a feminist perspective and presents ideas for socially and gender just alternatives to the extractivist economic system. The first section analyses the characteristics of the economic framework of extractivism, including the local, national, regional and global interconnections. The second section explores its hidden environmental and social costs, followed by the analysis of the gender dimensions of extractivism in the third section. The last section discusses the necessary steps and the existing building blocks towards alternative development models.