(WO) – 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. The two organizations announced the launch at the bank’s inaugural general meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on Oct. 31.
The AEB is intended 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 organizations, the continent’s energy investment needs are estimated at $200 billion. The new bank will fund projects across the value chain, including exploration and production, transportation, processing, refining and distribution, with the aim of boosting productive capacity, reducing reliance on imported petroleum products and promoting 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.” The organizations 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. The board includes members from the public and private sectors and from leading policy institutions across Africa.
