World
Oil Companies Jostle for Licenses in Angola
Angola is at the centre of global energy deals this week as its capital Luanda hosts a plethora of global CEOs and energy investors, and over 1,000 oil industry stakeholders at the Angola Oil & Gas 2019 Conference, organized by Africa Oil & Power.
The summit was open by President João Lourenço, who highlighted the various reforms made by his administration to revitalize the industry and insisted on the role of gas monetization to spur industrialization and economic growth.
The spotlight was given to exploration on an exciting panel sponsored by Schlumberger and moderated by NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (www.EnergyChamber.org) and CEO of the Centurion Law Group. The “Restructuring and Remodeling of Upstream Angola” panel gave the opportunity for leading Angolan and international executives to look at the status of current exploration efforts globally amidst reduced spending and decreasing production across most African oil producing nations.
Joining state-owned Sonangol E&P’s CEO Ricardo Van-Deste on the panel were Stephen Willis, Regional President, BP Angola & President ACEPA; Guido Brusco, Executive VP sub-Saharan Africa at ENI; Carri Lockhart, Senior VP at Equinor; Derek Magness, Executive Manager at Chevron; Pedro Ribeiro, Deputy General Manager at Total Angola; and ExxonMobil Angola General Manager André Kostelnik.
As he highlighted the reduced exploration spending from $7bn in 2013 to a current $2bn, Steven Willis insisted that reduced exploration is not only an ‘Angola effect’ but a global one. He also reminded the audience that Angola has a very high exploration success rate. “Despite reduced exploration, Angola’s success rate is over 50%, against a global average of 30%,” he explained.
Proof that exploration in Angola is a rewarding venture, ENI’s Executive Vice President talked about finding close to 2 billion barrels of oil in the country over the past 12 months with two major discoveries. “Continuous belief in exploration and its ability to create and transform industries really matters,” Guido Brusco said. “Our recent discovery in Block 15/06 is a testament to the potential Angola has to yield world-class discoveries in the coming years.”
The series of reforms enacted by the Angolan administration since 2017 has also been lauded as the result of a purpose-driven government focused on restoring investors’ trust. “What the Angolan government has done over the past years is nothing short of a revolution,” declared Stephen Willis. “We are witnessing a complete revitalization of the contractual and governmental framework which will show up in the form of increased market activity.”
Equinor’s comments on the importance of competitive tenders, attractive acreages and well-negotiated contracts echoed previous statements from Angolan Mineral Resources and Petroleum Minister H.E. Diamantino Azevedo, who highlighted the landmark reforms made by his government to boost exploration. These notably include a new oil-licensing strategy until 2025, new fiscal terms for the exploration and exploitation of marginal fields, and the establishment of the National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) as the country’s new concessionaire.
Exploration has overall remained a key theme throughout the day. “Angola has generated tremendous excitement for upstream opportunities,” said Africa Oil & Power CEO Guillaume Doane. “New entrants are looking at acquiring licenses and existing operators have renewed their commitment to the country. These are concrete first steps in Angola’s quest to reverse oil production decline.”
Equatorial Guinea’s Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, had also earlier emphasized on the need to not only conduct regular bidding rounds and award blocks, but to drill. “The world’s two largest producers, the United States and the Russian Federation, have built their industries and maintained themselves at the top because they never stop drilling,” he declared. “In Africa we need drill or drop policies.”
Equally significant was the discussion that NJ Ayuk launched on the empowerment of women in the oil & gas industry. In the presence of First Lady Ana Afonso Dias Lourenço and Pam Dawin, Vice President for Africa at ExxonMobil, operators on the panel made strong commitments to encourage more diversity in their workplace by skilling women and promoting them to leadership roles.
As exploration intensifies in Angola, the Chamber continues to believe that when governments and oil companies work hand in hand, the right reforms get implemented and discoveries are made. Such a dialogue has renewed spark in Angola where lots of companies and investors are now ready to invest and explore. The Chamber is determined to continue being a strategic partner of Angola and its oil industry, and advocating for better practices for the industry.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria regained its position as Africa’s leading destination for equity startup investment in the first half of 2026, raising $214 million in equity financing and a total of $254 million across equity and debt, according to the latest Africa: The Big Deal report.
The report, titled H1 2026: Mapping the Money, showed that Nigeria ranked second on the continent in total funding, behind Egypt, which attracted $327 million, while Kenya and South Africa followed with $126 million and $83 million, respectively.
However, the report noted that Egypt’s top position was largely driven by a single fundraising by electric mobility company Spiro, which secured $327 million, including $270 million in equity and $57 million in debt. Excluding debt financing, Nigeria emerged as Africa’s largest equity funding market in the first six months of the year.
According to the breakdown by Africa: The Big Deal, Nigeria’s equity funding of $214 million was higher than Egypt’s $183 million, while South Africa and Kenya attracted $66 million and $46 million, respectively.
Beyond funding value, Nigeria also led the continent in the number of startups that raised at least $100,000 during the review period, reclaiming the top spot after what the report described as an “underwhelming” second half of 2025.
The publication observed that Nigeria’s fundraising performance has remained relatively stable over the past few years and exceeded the $250 million mark for the first time since 2022, pointing to renewed investor confidence in the country’s startup ecosystem.
It also found that while the Big Four startup markets—Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa—continued to dominate Africa’s investment landscape, their combined share of total funding stood at 58 per cent in the first half of 2026.
“Zooming back on the Big Four (110 out of 190 $100k+ deals, i.e. 58%), Nigeria is head and shoulders above its peers, with Egypt and Kenya almost tying, and South Africa in fourth position again,” the report noted.
The report highlighted contrasting performances among the continent’s largest startup ecosystems. While Nigeria and Egypt maintained strong funding momentum, Kenya recorded its weakest funding performance since early 2021 after a strong second half of 2025, and South Africa failed to attract $100 million in funding during the period despite leading the continent a year earlier.
Africa: The Big Deal also noted a broader shift in investor behaviour, with funding increasingly concentrated in larger transactions while early-stage investments continued to decline. According to the publication, the drop in smaller funding rounds reflects growing concerns about limited capital available for early-stage startups across Africa.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Accessing the US Dollar in the East Africa region has now been made easier with the expansion of the stablecoin settlement infrastructure of SCRYPT.
This development enables banks, payment providers and corporate treasury teams to move value into and out of the continent in real time.
Businesses paying international suppliers frequently have to convert local currency into USD before purchasing stablecoins for settlement, incurring FX conversions and spreads before any payment is made.
But SCRYPT is eliminating this intermediate conversion by enabling direct settlement corridors for local African currencies into stablecoins.
This development allows businesses to move from local currency to stablecoin settlement in a single licensed transaction, without first sourcing rationed bank dollars, as stablecoins are increasingly becoming settlement infrastructure rather than an investment product.
The expansion adds settlement support across four African currencies: the Kenyan shilling (KES), Tanzanian shilling (TZS), Rwandan franc (RWF) and Ugandan shilling (UGX). Each corridor is delivered through the same full-stack infrastructure our clients already use for trading, custody and treasury operations.
Speaking on this, the chief executive of SCRYPT, Norman Wooding, said, “Across Africa, stablecoin adoption is driven by economic need, not speculation.
“Businesses here are not chasing yield; they are trying to pay suppliers and manage treasury without losing margin to a banking system that rations dollars. Licensed, fair-rate dollar access is the clearest proof of what this infrastructure is for.”
Also commenting, the Managing Director of Markets & Trading at SCRYPT, Mr Gabriel Titopoulos, said, “Until now, reaching stablecoins from local African currencies meant buying scarce dollars and incurring several layers of conversion costs.
“SCRYPT removes this friction. Firms and payment providers can now settle straight from local currencies through live corridors, with local partners.”
World
African Graduates Association Promoting Multifaceted Initiatives With Russian Educational Institutions
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
In preparations for the third Russia-Africa Summit, scheduled for late October 2026, Dr Francois Ngan, deputy chairman of the Union of Associations of African Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities, during an official working visit, has held a consultative meeting with Professor Vladimir Filippov, the President of the Russian University of Peoples’ Friendship (RUDN), and former Minister of Higher Education of Russia, Chairman of the National Commission for Accreditation of Higher Education.
RUDN is an educational institution established in 1960, primarily to provide higher education to Third World students. It has now become a popular multidisciplinary spot for many students, especially from developing countries. The university offers various academic programmes and has research infrastructure that comprises laboratories and interdisciplinary centres. The university is named after the former Congolese leader, Patrice Lumumba.
Dr Francois Ngan and Professor Filippov discussed the importance of the Graduates Association as a continental platform dedicated to strengthening unity, cooperation, and promoting shared progress among African graduates who studied in the former Soviet Union and in the Russian Federation. They also reviewed multifaceted initiatives that could bring together alumni associations from across Africa, whose members obtained education and professional training, and cultural experiences in Soviet and Russian institutions of higher learning.
Professor Filippov expressed optimism in addressing emerging challenges as a result of shifting geopolitical changes, emphasised strategic cooperation in the educational sphere with Africa, in general, and with the Republic of Cameroon, in particular, and further about the integration of African students during their studies in the Russian Federation.
The meeting also touched on academic and scientific work, the possibility of rewriting a scientific thesis, and the official organisation of transferring versions translated into six languages for the library of RUDN. Significant questions relating to Russia’s educational opportunities, collaborations and partnerships involving African countries were thoroughly discussed.
The Union of Associations of African Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities was created under one continental umbrella to promote friendship, for professional networking, to engage in cultural exchange, and with particular emphasis on forging strategic cooperation between Africa and Russia.
