Africa: Africa Energy Bank Formally Established in Abuja With $5 Billion Authorised Capital and First President Appointed
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Petroleum Producers' Organisation (APPO) announced on November 2 that the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) has been formally established to help address the continent's growing energy financing needs. The announcement was made on Sunday during the bank's inaugural general meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria.
With authorised capital of $5 billion, the bank will finance projects across the energy value chain, including exploration and production, transportation, processing, refining and distribution. Africa's energy investment needs are estimated at $200 billion, while traditional providers of financing to the continent's energy sector are increasingly withdrawing funding from fossil fuel projects, even as oil and gas remain important to Africa's energy systems. The AEB is expected to help bridge this financing gap while supporting a just energy transition tailored to the needs of African countries.
The bank will operate as an independent, supranational, pan-African financial institution, mobilising investment from governments, national oil companies, financial institutions and private investors. Its investments are expected to strengthen Africa's productive capacity, reduce reliance on imported petroleum products, promote intra-African trade in energy goods, and promote greater African participation in the continent's energy sector, so that Africa's energy future is shaped and financed by Africans.
Resolutions adopted at the inaugural general meeting included the appointment of the bank's first president, Helmy Ghazi, and the formation of its first Board of Directors, comprising representatives from the public and private sectors and leading policy institutions from across Africa. APPO officials had previously said the Africa Energy Bank planned to begin financing gas projects in early 2027.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：尼日利亚首都阿布贾城市大门，Mr Trinity001 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0 授权 / Photo: Abuja City Gate, Nigeria, by Mr Trinity001, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
