African Energy Bank Targets September Launch as Capital Raising Nears Finish Line

Africa’s ambition to finance more of its own energy future is moving closer to reality, with the African Energy Bank now scheduled to commence operations in September 2026 from its headquarters in Abuja.

The African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) confirmed the new timeline after several delays that shifted the bank’s launch from an initial April target to June and later to the third quarter of the year. APPO Secretary General Farid Ghezali said the September date reflects the administrative processes that must be completed before the institution becomes operational.

The bank, established by APPO and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), is designed to address Africa’s energy financing gap by mobilising capital for oil, gas and broader energy projects. It is also expected to help counter growing global funding pressures affecting hydrocarbon investments across the continent.

At APPO’s 46th Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting, held virtually, Nigeria reaffirmed its commitment to the project. The country’s delegation included the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Ogbe, who also serves on APPO’s Executive Board.

Although Nigeria previously announced that the bank’s headquarters was ready, securing the institution’s $500 million start-up capital has remained a key hurdle. Ghezali has urged member states to fulfil their commitments before the end of June.

Beyond financing projects, APPO sees the bank as a vehicle for transforming Africa’s energy landscape. Despite possessing some of the world’s largest oil and gas reserves, the continent produces only 12 per cent of global upstream liquids and imports more than 60 per cent of the petroleum products it consumes.

To help change that reality, the African Energy Bank plans to finance between 20 and 30 LNG projects, petroleum product pipelines, terminals and refining developments by 2030. About 40 per cent of its loan portfolio will be dedicated to projects that monetise natural gas as a transition fuel, while priority will be given to investments capable of creating between 500,000 and one million direct and indirect jobs across the energy value chain.

While the bank is expected to formally launch in September, Ghezali noted that lending activities will begin later, with loan-making projected to open by the end of 2026.