The African Export Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) have committed to the establishment of an African energy bank.
The two African institutions have resolved to work together to find an Africa-led solution to the challenge posed to the African oil and gas industry and an orderly energy transition in Africa by the withdrawal of funding by its traditional financiers.
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The two institutions have committed to taking necessary actions to promote a sustainable and balanced solution to the challenge of financing the oil and gas industry in Africa during the energy transition, through, among others, the establishment of an African Energy Transition Bank dedicated to supporting an Africa-led energy transition strategy that is consistent with the goal of preserving the environment and livelihoods.
The decision followed pressure from Nigeria and other oil-producing African countries to float a bank that will cater to the energy needs of the continent as a result of declining global investment in the oil and gas sector.
Recently, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, while marshalling reasons for the urgent need to establish the bank, stated that it will help boost business activities in the sector on the continent. Sylva said since western nations were scaling down funding for hydrocarbon exploration across the world and focusing on renewable energies, setting up an African energy bank remains a viable way to neutralise the threat.
