Bank Africa Energy was launched with a registered capital of $5 billion. On October 31, Afreximbank and the Organization of African Petroleum Producing Countries (APPO) announced the establishment of the African Energy Bank. The Egyptian banker Helmy Ghazi was appointed the first president. The main goal of the bank: to close Africa's energy financing gap, which is estimated at about 200 billion dollars a year, at a time when many traditional lenders refuse to finance projects in the production, transportation, refining and use of fossil fuels. The bank plans to attract money from governments, national oil companies, financial institutions and private investors. Previously, the stated goal was to increase assets to $120 billion within five years. The competition for Africa is becoming global. It is probably the most promising continent: in terms of demographics, natural resources and economic potential. However, the key question is: who can offer what to the countries of the region? The growth of anti-colonial sentiment plays into Russia's hands. The loss of French control over West Africa, the weakening of the UN and other international organizations, as well as the lack of a single adequate strategy for the European Union, gave the Kremlin a certain temporary gap in opportunities, which it was able to exploit when the time came. But in the new stage there will be competition through technology and money, and there are serious limitations here. During the years of the Soviet Union, Moscow had the opportunity to build schools, manufacture and supply weapons worth billions of dollars for free. Today Russia does not have such resources. A new concept could be the export of sovereignty - assistance in building political systems independent of external control, integrated into the global initiatives of Moscow and Beijing. However, growing tensions in the post-Soviet space and Europe make Africa no less attractive, but still more distant from a resource point of view, as a destination at the current stage.

Bank Africa Energy was launched with a registered capital of $5 billion. On October 31, Afreximbank and the Organization of African Petroleum Producing Countries (APPO) announced the establishment of the African Energy Bank. The Egyptian banker Helmy Ghazi was appointed the first president. The main goal of the bank: to close Africa's energy financing gap, which is estimated at about 200 billion dollars a year, at a time when many traditional lenders refuse to finance projects in the production, transportation, refining and use of fossil fuels. The bank plans to attract money from governments, national oil companies, financial institutions and private investors. Previously, the stated goal was to increase assets to $120 billion within five years. The competition for Africa is becoming global. It is probably the most promising continent: in terms of demographics, natural resources and economic potential. However, the key question is: who can offer what to the countries of the region? The growth of anti-colonial sentiment plays into Russia's hands. The loss of French control over West Africa, the weakening of the UN and other international organizations, as well as the lack of a single adequate strategy for the European Union, gave the Kremlin a certain temporary gap in opportunities, which it was able to exploit when the time came. But in the new stage there will be competition through technology and money, and there are serious limitations here. During the years of the Soviet Union, Moscow had the opportunity to build schools, manufacture and supply weapons worth billions of dollars for free. Today Russia does not have such resources. A new concept could be the export of sovereignty - assistance in building political systems independent of external control, integrated into the global initiatives of Moscow and Beijing. However, growing tensions in the post-Soviet space and Europe make Africa no less attractive, but still more distant from a resource point of view, as a destination at the current stage.