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Cameroon: African Development Bank bolsters Central Africa presence with inauguration of new regional office in Yaoundé

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Situated in the Golf district, the six-storey regional office building is equipped with 130 workstations, several meeting rooms, and a clinic

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YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon, April 16, 2024/APO Group/ — 

In a move that reaffirms its commitment to Central Africa’s development course, the African Development Bank (AfDB) (www.AfDB.org) has inaugurated an ultramodern regional office building in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Joseph Dion Ngute, Prime Minister of Cameroon, and Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, the Bank Group’s Vice-President for the Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Complex, led the opening ceremony held on 12 April. It was attended by Cameroonian government officials, diplomats, representatives of international and subregional bodies, as well as the private sector and civil society.

Situated in the Golf district, the six-storey regional office building is equipped with 130 workstations, several meeting rooms, and a clinic.

Prime Minister Ngute praised the Bank’s decision to establish the regional hub in Cameroon. “This inauguration demonstrates the strength of the relationship between Central Africa and the African Development Bank. The regional office “will enable the Bank to get closer to the realities of our sub-region and to provide more than in the past a specific support in line with the expectations of our populations,” he said.

The Central Africa regional office is one of six operated by the Bank globally, including one in Asia.

This inauguration demonstrates the strength of the relationship between Central Africa and the African Development Bank

Akin-Olugbade said the regional office will strengthen dialogue with regional economic communities, development partners and national authorities. “It will expedite the implementation of our regional integration initiatives in Central Africa and promote business development with the private sector, a crucial element for inclusive accelerated growth and development,” she stressed.

A historically significant region for the Bank

Many of the countries of Central Africa– Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon—participated in the Bank’s inception discussions in 1963 in Khartoum, Sudan. The Bank’s first approved operation for Cameroon was the $4 million funding of Douala Airport on 22 November 1972.

During the ceremony, Prime Minister Ngute formally handed over the indenture covering the 4,000 square meter land donated by the government for the new regional office building to Akin-Olugbade.  In return, the Bank also presented a certificate to Cameroon’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alassane Alamine Mey, for his contributions to the Youth Employability Support Programme, which offers one-year work placements to young graduates on Bank projects in Cameroon.

In May 2019, the Bank Group approved a Central Africa Regional Integration Strategy Paper (2019-2025) aimed strengthening regional infrastructure and intra-regional trade and building the institutional capacities of regional economic communities.

Currently, the Bank’s Central Africa portfolio comprises 121 operations valued at $6 billion. It has approved roughly 600 operations across the region, totalling $18 billion. Between 2019 and 2024, the Bank approved 20 regional operations, totalling $824.41 million, for Central Africa.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

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Ministers among hundreds of energy-sector leaders to attend AOW event

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The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

AOW: Investing in African Energy (https://AOWEnergy.com) – Africa’s leading oil, gas and energy event – has confirmed attendance for more than 80 ministers and senior officials, representing African governments, energy departments and regulators at next month’s event.

These influential stakeholders will be among the more than 1 600 senior delegates and industry leaders who will be attending the event to develop policy, share discoveries, secure investment, and shape Africa’s energy future.

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors.”

Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention

Among the officials and government ministers attending will be energy leaders from South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Eswatini, Uganda, CAR, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Gabon, Malawi, Morocco, Zanzibar, Liberia, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone.

In addition, the event will feature high-level delegations from numerous national oil companies, as well as multilateral bodies including the African Union, (AU), African Energy Commission (AFREC), African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

AOW will see these energy leaders networking with C-suite executives and decision-makers from more than 760 top energy companies at daily networking events, to discuss insights, forge new relationships, and negotiate major energy deals.

“We are so excited to see the calibre of delegates at this year’s AOW event,” says Chief Executive Officer of Sankofa Events, Paul Sinclair. “Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention. The high-powered attendance proves AOW is a key platform to enable this intervention.”

Key themes to be discussed at this year’s AOW will be sustainable upstream development; expanding gas value chains; renewables and new energies; adoption of best-in-class technologies; and access to finance.

AOW: Investing in African Energy will culminate in a special anniversary party at Groot Constantia Vineyard to celebrate 30 years of the AOW event.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of AOW: Investing in African Energy.

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Afreximbank approves US$20.8 million for Starlink Global’s cashew factory project in Lagos

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The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs

CAIRO, Egypt, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has approved a US$20.8 million financing facility for Nigeria-based Starlink Global & Ideal Limited to enable the company construct and operate a 30,000-metric tonne per annum cashew processing factory in Lagos.

We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria

According to the facility agreement signed in on July 22, 2024, Afreximbank will provide the funds in two tranches with the first tranche of US$7.48M going toward capital expenditure for the construction of the factory and the second, totalling US$13.25M to be deployed as working capital for the operations of the factory.

The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs once the factory becomes operational. It is also expected to support about 40 small and medium-sized enterprises.

Commenting on the transaction, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra Africa Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank, said that by supporting Starlink Global to establish a modern processing facility, Afreximbank is making it possible for Africa to add value to its agro-commodities, thereby facilitating exports and subsequent inflow of much-needed foreign exchange into the continent.

“We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria. It will contribute to value creation and to the development of the local community while also improving the lots of smallholder farmers and small business suppliers that will work with Starlink across the value chain,” Mrs. Awani added.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

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Sonangol to Lead Decarbonized Oil & Gas (O&G) Development, Says Angolan National Oil Company (NOC) Head

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Participating in an on-stage interview at Angola Oil & Gas 2024, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins emphasized that oil and gas remains a core focus for the national oil company

LUANDA, Angola, October 3, 2024/APO Group/ — 

Angola’s national oil company Sonangol reiterated its commitment to driving sustainable hydrocarbon development during the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference this week. Speaking during an “In-Conversation with” session, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins stated that the company will not abandon oil and gas, but rather advance decarbonized oil and gas development.

We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas

By investing in upstream oil and gas production while prioritizing low-carbon projects, Sonangol aims to boost national crude output, while diversifying and decarbonizing the industry. The NOC is focusing efforts on non-associated gas development, as well as alternative energy sources such as solar.

“We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas. Gas produced from Angola LNG will be used for the production of fertilizer and we are evaluating the utilization of gas in the south of the country, linking gas with steel industries. We also have a blue carbon project, linked to the reduction of carbon through the plantation of mangroves. We have one area in Luanda and have identified four additional areas for this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Sonangol has undergone transformation in recent years: following the creation of the National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG) in 2019, Sonangol transferred its role as national concessionaire and regulator. This transformation has aimed to make Sonangol more competitive and strengthen its capacity as an upstream operator. Concurrently, the government is partially privatizing the NOC, with privatization set to be complete in 2026. This process will enhance financial capacity, allowing Sonangol to drive new upstream projects forward.

“The transformation of Sonangol started several years ago, when we passed the regulatory, concessionaire role to the ANPG. At the time, we transferred almost 600 employees to the ANPG. After that, Sonangol underwent a restructuring program where we created five core business units from 36 different entities – starting with exploration and production. We want to go public, but we want to do it properly. So, we are currently going through all the processes to do this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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