FINANCE : The African Energy Bank Enters Its Operational Phase
La voix des entreprises 
(LVDE) — In Abuja, Nigeria, the African Energy Bank has reached a decisive milestone with the official opening of its provisional headquarters. Backed by the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) and Afreximbank, the new financial institution aims to restore Africa’s control over its energy financing, at a time when global capital flows dedicated to hydrocarbons are becoming increasingly scarce.
Nigeria’s capital hosted, on Monday, February 2, 2026, a major institutional moment for Africa’s energy sector with the official inauguration of the provisional headquarters of the African Energy Bank. Long confined to the status of a political project, the initiative spearheaded by the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) has now entered a concrete phase, marking the transition from intent to action.
Meeting in Abuja, APPO leaders, representatives of Afreximbank, and several ministers in charge of energy validated the conclusions of the technical and governance committees tasked with steering the effective establishment of the institution. This symbolic step confirms the installation of an operational center from which the bank will be able to structure its future intervention mechanisms.
Elected President of APPO in November 2025, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy, Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly, has made the operationalization of the African Energy Bank one of the key pillars of his mandate. During the ceremony, he stressed that the institution reflects a collective ambition to strengthen Africa’s energy sovereignty, at a time when many international lenders are gradually withdrawing from the financing of oil and gas projects.
Provisionally housed within Afreximbank’s new regional office in Abuja, the headquarters of the African Energy Bank represents a structuring milestone ahead of the construction of a permanent seat. The Nigerian government has already allocated land for this future facility, thereby confirming its long-term commitment as host country.
According to APPO and Afreximbank, the pan-African bank will seek to mobilize financial resources tailored to African realities in order to support strategic energy projects, while also accompanying a gradual transition toward more sustainable models. Several African business and energy media outlets, including Jeune Afrique, Africa Energy Portal, and Ecofin, have welcomed this institutional breakthrough, describing it as an African response to the growing constraints of international energy financing.
The official opening of the headquarters thus marks the starting point of the expected ramp-up of the African Energy Bank, which is set to become a central lever of the continent’s energy development.
Tressy Chouente
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