Reuters
The proposed Africa Energy Bank, which will focus investment in oil and gas projects across the continent, is set to start operations later this year with an initial $5 billion authorized capital base, a senior official said on Wednesday. The bank, a partnership between Afreximbank and the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO), is meant to help plug a funding gap in Africa amid pressure on major banks from environmental groups to shift investment dollars away from climate-warming oil and gas projects. "Africa should set up its own financing capability so that we can still develop this strategic sector, that is the rationale," Zakaria Dosso, managing director of Africa Energy Investment Corporation (AEICORP), the investment arm of APPO, said.