African oil-producing nations planning to launch a $5 billion energy bank next year in Abuja have already secured 45% of the required startup capital.
The bank aims to address the funding gap created by traditional investors shifting their focus from crude oil to low-carbon energy.
According to Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation, Angola, Nigeria, and Ghana are among the initial backers, with the funds raised “even before” the bank’s legal establishment.
Ibrahim disclosed this during the Angola Oil & Gas conference in Luanda, Angola’s capital.
The African Export–Import Bank, the primary financier of the initiative, signed a memorandum of understanding with APPO in June to establish the energy bank.
*This piece was contributed by Kelechi Boms