During its inaugural general meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) formally established the Africa Energy Bank (AEB). The bank was established with $5 billion in authorized capital to finance oil and gas projects across the continent, as Reuters reported, as traditional international lenders scale back funding for fossil fuel developments.
The meeting appointed Egyptian banker Helmy Ghazi as the bank’s first president and constituted its inaugural Board of Directors. The institution will finance projects across the energy value chain, including oil and gas exploration and production, transportation, processing, refining, and distribution.
Africa’s energy investment needs are estimated at $200 billion, creating a financing gap the new institution aims to address while strengthening African participation in the energy industry.
The bank will operate as an independent, supranational pan-African financial institution, seeking to mobilize funding from African governments, national oil companies (NOCs), financial institutions, and private investors.
Its mandate also includes strengthening the continent’s energy production capacity, reducing dependence on imported petroleum products, and expanding intra-African energy trade.
Afreximbank and APPO signed the establishment agreement and charter for the Africa Energy Bank in Cairo in June 2024, in a ceremony witnessed by then Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla. The institution was initially designed with $5 billion in capital to address financing challenges facing Africa’s hydrocarbon industry amid the global energy transition.
In February 2025, Reuters reported that the bank was targeting a mid-2025 launch, with South Africa expressing interest in joining despite not being an APPO member. At the time, Afreximbank said it was raising capital from participating countries ahead of the start of operations.
Sarah has been writing in the oil and gas field for 8 years. She has a Bachelor Degree in English Literature. She has three years of experience in the banking sector.
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