The Africa Energy Bank has been formally set up with $5 billion in authorised capital, and Ghana is among the first countries to have paid in.
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Petroleum Producers' Organisation (APPO) announced the launch at the bank's first general meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on 31 October. The meeting appointed Egyptian banker Helmy Ghazi as its first president and formed its first board.
Ghana, an APPO member, was one of the first three countries to pay their capital contributions, alongside Nigeria and Angola, APPO Secretary General Omar Farouk Ibrahim said last year. Those three payments covered 44% of the minimum APPO members needed to launch the bank. How much Ghana paid has not been made public.
The bank will fund oil and gas projects from exploration and production to refining and distribution. It aims to fill a gap left as traditional lenders pull back from fossil fuels, while oil and gas remain central to Africa's energy supply.
Africa's energy investment needs are estimated at $200 billion, according to the launch announcement. The bank has targeted an asset base of $120 billion, Reuters reported earlier.