APPO: Nigeria among countries that raised 45% of Africa Energy Bank’s startup capital

African oil-producing countries planning to start a $5 billion Africa Energy Bank (AEB) in 2025 have raised 45 percent of the startup capital.

The bank aims to fill a funding gap caused by traditional investors shifting from crude oil to low-carbon energy.

According to the publication on Thursday, Omar Farouk Ibrahim, secretary-general of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO), said Angola, Nigeria, and Ghana, are among initial financial backers of the bank.

Ibrahim, while speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing Angola Oil and Gas conference in Luanda, said the countries had raised the funds before its legal establishment.

The secretary-general said Africa’s petroleum ministers will meet on November 1 to finalise the launch date of the bank that will be headquartered in Nigeria.

“We have come a long way. I believe we are the first development bank to progress from conceptualisation to near fruition in just over two years,” he said.

In June, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the main funder of the project, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with APPO to establish the bank.

A month later, the federal government said Nigeria had won its bid to host the headquarters of the Africa Energy Bank.