This is contained in a statement signed by Afreximbank’s Media Contact, Mr Amadou Sall, on Friday.
Sall said the establishment of the energy bank was in support of an African-led energy transition strategy.
He said the new institution would accelerate Africa’s economic development while ensuring the progress was compatible with and complementary to, the Sustainable Development Goals.
Sall said that the new bank would also ensure compatibility with the continent’s long-term social and environmental objectives as set out in African Union’s Agenda 2063.
He said that the bank would address urgent and existential needs on the continent.
“Africa stands to experience profound effects from climate change, while the considerable poverty across the continent further disincentives a focus on environmental care and sustainability for many populations.
“Moreover, Africa’s oil and gas industry faces growing pressures as international investment in hydrocarbons diminishes.
“While Africa’s transition towards alternative energy sources presents great opportunities for the continent, this transition must be carefully managed to minimise the short-term adverse impacts of the transition while maximizing
its longer-term benefits,” he said.
Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah in a statement expressed delight at collaborating with APPO towards the establishment of the African Energy Transition Bank”.
“These are challenging times when we must strive to strike the right balance between the imperatives of mitigating climate change and the urgency of averting social upheavals as a
result of increasingly difficult economic and financial conditions in Africa.
“For us at Afreximbank, supporting the emergence of the African Energy Transition Bank will enable a more efficient and predictable capital allocation between fossil fuels and renewables.”
Also speaking, APPO Secretary General,Dr Omar Farouk Ibrahim, said “Today’s event marks the beginning of Africa taking its destiny into its own hands.”
Ibrahim said for too long, Africa had looked outside for solutions to its challenges, access to finance, access to technology, access to markets, etc.
He said Africans had come to believe that without foreign support they cannot make any progress in addressing these challenges on the African continent.
Ibrahim, however, said that the resolve to establish the bank evidenced in the signing of an MoU between the two African institutions was a clear indication of the changing orientation of Africans on how to address their challenges.
