Africa Launches Its Own $5 Billion Energy Bank in Abuja to Fund the Oil and Gas Projects Traditional Lenders Are Backing Away From
Africa now has a bank of its own for oil and gas. The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) have formally established the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) with $5 billion in authorized capital to finance oil and gas projects across the continent, announcing the launch at the bank’s inaugural general meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on Oct. 31.
The AEB is meant to fill a financing gap left as traditional lenders pull back from fossil fuels, even though oil and gas remain vital to Africa’s energy systems. According to the two organizations, the continent’s energy investment needs are estimated at $200 billion. Authorized capital is the ceiling the bank is permitted to raise, and the announcement did not say how much has been paid in so far.
The bank will fund projects across the value chain, including exploration and production, transportation, processing, refining and distribution. The stated aims are to boost productive capacity, reduce reliance on imported petroleum products and promote intra-African energy trade.
In a joint statement, Afreximbank and APPO said the bank’s creation “reaffirms African governments’ determination to secure their own energy future.” They added that its mandate includes promoting African participation in the sector “to ensure that Africa’s energy future is shaped by Africans.” They also pointed to the investment in power generation and transmission needed to support industrial growth and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
The AEB will operate as an independent, supranational pan-African financial institution. It will seek investment from governments, national oil companies, financial institutions and private investors, and its approach includes supporting what the organizations called a just energy transition for African countries.
At its first general assembly, the bank appointed Helmy Ghazi as its inaugural president and formed its first board of directors, with members from the public and private sectors and from leading policy institutions across Africa.
Source: worldoil.com
