Economy
Anambra Targets $200m Debt Financing
By Adedapo Adesanya
Anambra State and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the development of the Southeast state through the provision of project preparation and advisory services, including a potential debt financing programme of up to $200 million.
Under the terms of the MOU signed by Mrs Kanayo Awani, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank, and Mr Charles Soludo, Governor of Anambra State, during the Anambra Investment Summit, Afreximbank and the state government will jointly prioritise strategic projects for preparation and funding, collaboratively evaluating each project to formulate a time-bound work programme for effective execution.
Afreximbank will work with the state government to establish bankability for key projects, including the Ikenga Mixed-Use Industrial City, the Anambra Export Emporium and the Akwaihedi Unubi Uga Automotive Industrial Park, as well as any other project agreed upon by the parties.
Afreximbank and the state government will also conclude all prerequisite actions necessary for securing a financing programme of up to $200 million from Afreximbank and its affiliated entities for the projects contingent upon the conclusion of a substantive agreement between the parties.
In addition, the MoU provides for the parties to collaborate on trade and investment promotion in Anambra State through the African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AfSNET) and facilitate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The Cairo-based bank will work with the Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency to provide training and capacity building on trade and investment, undertake investment forums, identify and prepare strategic trade and investment projects and foster collaboration between sub-sovereign governments in Africa. The AfSNET network is expected to facilitate direct exchange of information and peer learning from sub-sovereign governments in Africa.
Other areas of collaboration covered in the MoU include the provision of transaction advisory services aimed at facilitating the procurement of debt and equity capital. It will also focus on export development advisory, twinning services, and senior debt structuring.
In an address to the summit, Mrs Awani, speaking on behalf of Mr Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, said that Afreximbank’s mission aligned seamlessly with Anambra’s industrialization objectives, including its vision for a smart mega city, noting that the bank had identified the emergence of industrial parks and special economic zones as a strategic priority to accelerate Africa’s industrial infrastructure development.
“These facilities do not only optimize capital deployment but also drive economies of scale and nurture ecosystem development,” she said. “They also enable the use of otherwise inaccessible technologies and cutting-edge infrastructure”.
Noting that such projects required substantial funding, she said that innovative partnerships, including public-private partnerships, had emerged as instrumental bridges capable of closing the infrastructure gap that spanned the African continent, adding that the African private sector held immense potential to bolster a wide spectrum of public sector endeavours.
“Just as we have championed the transformative potential of industrial parks and special economic zones across Africa through public and private sector collaboration, committing over $1.5 billion so far to the realization of these projects, Afreximbank is ready to support Anambra State, as it is doing in Ogun and Abia States (Enyimba Industrial City), to promote similar projects here,” Mrs Awani continued.
“With peace and security gradually returning to the state, with our youth beginning to realize that their future cannot thrive in an environment of widespread insecurity, we can look forward to a similar $400 million industrial park project in collaboration with the state.
“It makes business sense to do so, and we have advanced discussions with Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) to implement creating over 10,000 jobs while bringing export-oriented businesses to Anambra state,” she added.
The bank, leveraging its fundraising capabilities in Africa’s capital markets, could also raise funds that could be deployed into impactful infrastructure projects in the state using various financing instruments and mechanisms which could be explored with the state government, she noted.
She announced that the bank was implementing AfSNET, a platform for sub-sovereign governments throughout Africa to promote economic development and encourage intra-African trade and investment by allowing collaboration between the public and private sectors, facilitating peer learning, and allowing Afreximbank to take its products and services to the grassroots, where trade and investment actually take place.
She also announced that Afreximbank’s broader collaboration with Nigeria had been fruitful over the years and had seen the Bank invest over $36 billion into the Nigerian economy since its creation in 1993. Afreximbank flagship projects currently underway in Nigeria include the $300-million 500-bed Africa Medical Centre of Excellence in Abuja in partnership with King’s College, London, the Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre, also in Abuja, and the Africa Quality Assurance Centre in Shagamu, Ogun State, which is already operational.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the Nigerian private sector in July 2026 contracted to 52.5 points from 53.4 points in June 2026, a statement made available to Business Post has shown.
This occurred despite the business environment sustaining its growth last month, with an increase in new orders experienced, as inflationary pressures softened, and output and employment modestly rising.
The Head of Equity Research West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Muyiwa Oni, said the PMI indicated that the private sector recorded its slowest since March 2026, as businesses also increased their input purchasing activity to keep up with current demand requirements and prepare for future workloads.
“Nigerian businesses reported improved customer demand in July while better pricing and new product launches also helped them to capture new orders arising from the increase in demand. These factors helped to keep the private sector activity in an expansionary territory, although this moderated when compared to June,” he was quoted as saying.
It was stated that while input costs increased at their slowest pace in five months, panellists reported higher costs for fuel and raw materials. Selling prices also softened in line with the picture for input costs in July.
Headline inflation eased slightly to 15.91 per cent y/y in June from 15.93 per cent y/y in May, snapping three consecutive months of price increases.
Although July inflation is likely to be higher m/m, it is expected to print lower, likely at 15.72 per cent y/y, primarily driven by favourable base effects from the corresponding period of last year, because there are no expectations of the magnitude of m/m inflation witnessed in July 2025 (1.99 per cent) to materialise this year.
“We retain our 2026 growth forecasts at 4.1 per cent as we see the oil sector growing by 3.45 per cent y/y in 2026, from 8.50 per cent y/y in 2025, while the non-oil sector is likely to grow by 4.11 per cent y/y, from 3.71 per cent y/y in 2025.
“The risks to our outlook include country-wide insecurity which may constrain food production, exchange rate pressures resurfacing, extreme-weather related conditions and higher fertiliser prices impacting crop yield, and a volatile global environment which may affect sentiment and constrain capital flows,” Mr Oni noted.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Sahara Upstream, a Nigeria-focused crude producer, has deployed a new 380,000-barrel tanker to boost exports from the OML 18 block as part of a wider push by domestic operators to invest in infrastructure and lift output and exports for Africa’s biggest oil producer.
The MT D Adesanya, which can hold more than 62,000 cubic metres of crude, will operate alongside the MT D Bayero, receiving crude from shuttle vessels at Bonny Anchorage, one of Nigeria’s main crude export hubs, before transferring it to the FSO Cawthorne storage facility.
Sahara said the tanker would help cut turnaround times, currently about 30 to 48 hours, and support a planned 50 per cent increase in exports from the block’s current level of about 950,000 barrels per month.
The block currently produces about 36,000 barrels per day, according to data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), with Sahara targeting output of 60,000 barrels per day.
OML 18 is one of the Niger Delta’s oldest producing assets. It began production in 1970 and contains an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves.
Shell, Total and Eni sold their combined interests to Eroton in 2015 as part of a broader shift toward domestic ownership in Nigeria’s upstream sector.
This development comes as Sahara Upstream is deepening its exploration and production footprint through Asharami Energy Limited (AEL), its upstream E&P business, which says it is targeting 350,000 barrels of oil per day by 2030 through its subsidiary, Enageed Resources Limited (ERL).
The growth target comes as AEL also marks a major safety milestone, achieving 6 million Lost Time Injury (LTI)-free man-hours in its OML-148 operations — reinforcing the company’s commitment to operational excellence and safety leadership.
According to Asharami Energy, the milestone reflects its ability to execute complex operations safely, in line with Sahara’s Beyond XXX vision, which builds on the group’s 30-year legacy of responsible enterprise while marking its next chapter of impact, innovation, and sustainable growth.
The developments position Sahara Upstream and its subsidiaries among the domestic operators driving increased investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure, as the group works to scale up production and exports for Africa’s biggest oil producer.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the leading energy firms in Nigeria, Aradel Holdings Plc, has expressed its desire to optimise its enlarged portfolio and improve operational efficiency in the second half of 2026.
The company is planning to build on the success it recorded in the first half of the year, where it grew its revenue by 577 per cent to N2.5 trillion from N368.1 billion in H1 2025.
The significant rise in earnings was driven by higher production volumes together with stronger realised crude oil and gas prices, with the average at $90.4/bbl and $2.08/mmscf, respectively.
In the period under review, the Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) increased by 688 per cent to N1.4 trillion from N176.4 billion in the corresponding period of last year, while the operating profit surged by 789 per cent to N1.1 trillion from N118.6 billion due to higher revenue and crude handling income at N149.8 billion, partly offset by underlift cost and general and administrative costs.
The net cash generated from operations was N975.6 billion between January and June 2026 versus N140.8 billion in the same period of 2025, reflecting the cash generation of the enlarged organisation.
The net debt contracted by 70 per cent on a year-to-date basis to N46.5 billion from N475.1 billion as of December 31, 2025.
Aradel, in the period under consideration, improved its post-tax profit by 30 per cent to N191.0 billion from N146.4 billion, a development that impressed its chief executive, Mr Adegbite Falade, who said, “A firmer price environment supported performance, generating net cash from operating activities of N975.6 billion and a closing cash balance of N1.7 trillion.”
“Our enlarged portfolio provides more opportunities to generate stronger cash flow and returns for shareholders and unlocking that potential is our main focus.
“We reaffirm our full year production guidance of 110 – 140 kboepd and remain committed to operating responsibly in a changing energy landscape and to delivering lasting value for our stakeholders,” he stated.
