The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) have announced the establishment of the Africa Energy Bank (AEB), which aims to finance key energy projects on the continent.

The announcement was made during the AEB’s inaugural general meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria on October 31.

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The creation of the Africa Energy Bank reaffirms African governments’ determination to secure their own energy future, the two organisations said in a statement.

"With an authorised capital of US$5 billion, the AEB will support projects across the energy value chain, including exploration and production, transportation, processing, refining, and distribution," the statement read in part.

"These investments are intended to strengthen productive capacity, reduce reliance on imported petroleum products, and promote intra-African trade in energy goods."

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Afreximbank and APPO acknowledged that traditional providers of financing to Africa’s energy sector are withdrawing funding from fossil fuels, "even as oil and gas remain vital to the continent’s energy systems."

"The Africa Energy Bank aims to bridge this financing gap while supporting a just energy transition for African countries," they said.

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The bank’s mandate also includes promoting "robust African participation" in the energy sector.

The AEB will operate as an independent, supranational pan-African financial institution. It will also seek to attract investments from governments, national oil companies, financial institutions, and private investors to support energy development across the continent.

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The inaugural meeting appointed Helmy Ghazi as the bank’s first president and constituted its first board of directors, bringing together representatives from the public and private sectors.

The meeting was attended by Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Heineken Lokpobiri, Afreximbank President and Chairman of the Board George Elombi, and Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly.