Nigeria Hands Over Africa Energy Bank HQ Ahead of Planned June Launch

Nigeria has completed the handover of the permanent headquarters of the Africa Energy Bank in Abuja, clearing a major operational requirement ahead of the institution’s expected start of operations in June.

The facility, located within the Afreximbank African Trade Centre, was transferred to the Association of African Petroleum Producing Countries (APPO) during a ceremony attended by Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, APPO President Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly, and representatives of Afreximbank.

Nigeria, which won the bid to host the bank, provided the headquarters as part of its host-country obligations. Lokpobiri said the completion of the office resolved one of the last outstanding issues delaying the bank’s launch, adding that preparations are now focused on governance, staffing and regulatory processes.

The Africa Energy Bank was established to provide financing for oil and gas projects at a time when African producers face tightening access to capital from traditional international lenders. The institution is expected to support projects across the upstream, midstream and downstream segments in APPO’s 18 member countries.

Sangafowa-Coulibaly described the availability of a functional headquarters as a necessary step toward formal operations, noting that shareholder arrangements are already in place. APPO Secretary-General Farid Ghezali said the bank would help mobilise capital for Africa’s resource development, supported by Afreximbank’s involvement as a strategic partner.

The bank’s promoters say it is intended to strengthen energy security and provide African governments with additional options for funding hydrocarbon development as the global energy transition reshapes investment flows.