The African Energy Bank, focused on investments in oil and gas projects across the continent, is set to begin operations later this year, with an initial authorized capital of $5 billion, according to a senior official.
This institution, the result of a partnership between Afreximbank and the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO), aims to address the financing gap in Africa, where major banks are under pressure from environmental groups to divert investment from oil and gas projects linked to global warming.
Zakaria Dosso, Managing Director of the Africa Energy Investment Corporation (AEICORP), the investment arm of APPO, emphasized: "Africa needs to establish its own financing capacity to continue developing this strategic sector".
He reported that Ghana had recently deposited just over $20 million with AEICORP, becoming the third African country to make such a deposit after Nigeria and Angola, the continent's leading crude oil producers.
Dosso announced that the African Energy Bank should be operational in the second half of 2024. Each African member country is expected to contribute at least $83 million, for a total of around $1.5 billion. Afreximbank and APPO, as founding members, are also expected to match this amount. The remaining $2 billion could come from other investors, including Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds.
For the AFE seat, six countries (Algeria, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa) are in the running. Egypt has withdrawn its candidacy. Dosso explained that Angola, Libya, Senegal, Venezuela and Afreximbank, members of the selection committee, will evaluate the applications and present their recommendations to the ministers for a final decision.
