Afreximbank convenes Angola oil and gas financing forum to advance local content and indigenous participation

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) hosted a Local Content Development Forum in Luanda, Angola, on 9 September 2026, bringing together government institutions, financial institutions, indigenous companies and industry players to explore financing opportunities across Angola’s oil and gas value chain.

Held at the Centro de Convenções de Talatona, the forum focused on how financing, partnerships and transaction structures could support the growth of Angolan companies across the sector, including opportunities in project finance, trade finance, downstream infrastructure and industrial development.

Angola remains one of Africa’s most significant energy markets, with Afreximbank having invested close to US$2 billion in the country’s oil and gas sector. The forum built on that engagement by examining how more Angolan companies could progress from participation into ownership and scale, when the right financing, partnerships and structures are made available to them.

Commenting on Afreximbank’s ambition to support the next generation of Angolan energy companies, Mr. Haytham Elmaayergi, Executive Vice President, Global Trade Bank, Afreximbank, said:

“Angola has built a strong platform for its energy sector, with Afreximbank playing a longstanding role in structuring, financing and mobilising capital to support its development at scale. The next phase is about enabling more Angolan companies to move from participation and service provision towards ownership and scale, drawing on the experience of successful indigenous African operators to turn that ambition into bankable transactions and build the next generation of national and regional champions.”

Speaking at the Forum, Berta Rodrigues Issa, President of ASSEA (Association of Indigenous Companies for the Oil Industry of Angola), congratulated Afreximbank on hosting the event, and for placing Local Content where it truly belongs: “A country does not industrialise merely by exporting more than it imports. It industrialises when it transforms its resources, develops productive capacity and builds companies capable of competing beyond its borders. That is why Afreximbank’s theme- “From Resources to Value” – is so deeply aligned with Angola’s Local Content agenda.

“For ASSEA, Local Content cannot be limited to the participation of Angolan-owned companies in one-off contracts. It must be a deliberate path towards capacity building, industrialization and competitiveness.”

The forum examined practical constraints facing indigenous companies, including access to appropriate financing, bankability, execution capability and market access, and considered how Afreximbank’s financing and advisory capabilities could help address these barriers.

Participants also drew lessons from Nigeria, where indigenous companies such as Oando and Heirs Energies have expanded their ownership and operating positions through significant acquisition transactions. Oando’s US$783 million acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company increased its interests in OMLs 60–63 from 20% to 40%, while Heirs Energies acquired a 45% interest in OML 17 and assumed operatorship of the asset. The examples illustrated how indigenous African companies can scale into larger ownership and operating roles.

The forum also highlighted significant pipeline of opportunities across Angola’s oil and gas sector, including US$2.5 billion for Lobito Oil, US$1 billion for Sonangol, US$1.4 billion for Amufert and US$280 million for Itracom.

Discussions centred on how public institutions, local banks, industry operators and investors could work together to advance these opportunities towards implementation.