African Energy Chamber Wednesday announced the appointment of a seven-man member to its Investment Advisory Committee, the last body to serve on its Advisory Board for 2020 and 2021.
The chamber said the new Investment Committee would provide solutions towards financing Africa’s energy resurgence.
The members of the committee include: Global Head, Client Relations, Afreximbank, René Awambeng; Managing Director, EnergyInc Advisors and Senior Africa Advisor, IFU Danish Investment Fund, Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani; former Oil Executive and Energy Consultant, Abongwa Ndumu; Partner and Executive Director – Upstream, Cayo Energy LP, Robert Erlich; Vice President – Africa, ION, Folarin Lajumoke; Executive Chairman/Founder, Raise Africa Investments, Nosizwe Nokwe-Macamo; and CEO, Afara Solutions, Rachelle Yayi.
Members of the Investment Committee have been serving in their personal capacity and have gathered a wide range of expertise in finance, legal and consulting.
Beyond this, the members would play a key role in supporting the African Energy Chamber’s investment outreach initiatives.
“Our Investment Committee is central to the African Energy Chamber’s objective of providing a bridge between investors and the continent’s energy industry.
“Africa has limitless investment opportunities across energy sources and across value-chains, and there is a pressing need to communicate better with financiers and investors to increase investments in the continent.
“The African Energy Chamber has made it its mission to boost capital and technology inflow on the continent, from engaging with new capital providers interested in Africa to advising on the structuring of better and future deals,” said the Executive Chairman at the African Energy Chamber, NJ Ayuk.
With billions of dollars required every year to upgrade its energy infrastructure and fight energy poverty, the continent needs to successfully mobilise a wide variety of capital and financing.
In doing so, African energy markets should be engaging with a broader range of capital providers, from traditional lenders to global institutional investors and private equity firms to venture capitalists.
The energy resurgence of the continent following the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) would require all stakeholders to come together and find new ways to structuring deals and raising capital for the benefits of local economies and jobs creation.
Landmark gas projects across Africa have managed to attract regional and global capital in recent months and years.
From Senegal to Mozambique and Equatorial Guinea, Africa has demonstrated its ability to attract funding. However, investment is still falling short of market needs.
While Nigeria’s ongoing Marginal Fields Bidding Round stands to be a success, access to financing the development of such fields will remain a key challenge for the operators.
African energy companies in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Mozambique and South Sudan, Uganda and South Africa continue to see capital as their biggest obstacle when it comes to developing African natural resources or even competing for service contracts.
Idowu Sowunmi
