Afreximbank and the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) have formally established the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) in Abuja, Nigeria, with $5 billion in authorised capital, as they try to close a financing gap that they estimate at $200 billion for Africa’s energy sector.
The announcement was made at the bank’s inaugural general meeting on Saturday, October 31, 2026, in a joint statement. The meeting appointed Egyptian banker Helmy Ghazi as its first president and formed its first board of directors, which includes members from the public and private sectors and leading policy institutions from across the continent. The launch came after repeated delays; Nigeria said in 2024 that plans to operationalise the bank in Abuja were on course.
The AEB will finance projects across the energy value chain, including exploration and production, transportation, processing, refining and distribution. Its backers say it will fill a gap left by traditional lenders, which have been withdrawing short- and long-term funding from fossil fuel projects, while helping African countries pursue what they call a just energy transition.
The statement said the bank’s creation reaffirms governments’ determination to secure their own energy future. Its mandate also includes promoting strong African participation in the energy sector so that the continent’s energy future is shaped by Africans.
It will operate as an independent, supranational, pan-African financial institution and aims to attract capital from governments, national oil companies, financial institutions and private investors.
The bank reportedly secured $500 million in initial capital, a figure that is far below the $5 billion authorised, which is the ceiling on shares it can issue and not the amount actually paid in. Afreximbank had approved $1.7 billion as an investment in the bank in 2024, according to a report cited by Nairametrics, making it one of the main investors.
The institution is targeting its first project financing in 2027, although no lending commitments have been announced. Officials have not said which projects it will back first or how its lending terms will be set.
The meeting was attended by Afreximbank President and Chairman George Elombi, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly, and Nigerian officials including Senator Heineken Lokpobiri. APPO, which has its headquarters in Nigeria, was founded in 1987 as the African Petroleum Producers’ Association, and the AEB is its brainchild.
