• The African Energy Chamber predicts that oil markets in 2024 will stay balanced and somewhat flat, with only marginal growth.
• Aviation-driven liquids product demand—primarily from the US and Asia—likely will comprise over 50% of global demand during the next 18 months.
• Another key driver will be industrial demand, particularly from the petrochemical sector in the Middle East, Asia, and the US, along with power generation projects.

Six months after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 is no longer a health emergency, it’s still difficult to fully grasp the far-reaching damage the pandemic has inflicted, from the tremendous toll on lives to economic devastation.

The chaos certainly was felt in the oil industry, which saw record distortions during the pandemic era, especially during its first few months.

As David Gaffen wrote for Reuters in February 2022, “Like much else during the pandemic, what was happening in fuel markets was unprecedented. …

• A single window system allows parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardized information and documents with a single entry point to fulfill their needs.
• It centralizes all information and procedures related to the import, export, and transit of goods in a country.
• The single windows concept is transferable to various typologies, from Maritime Single to Port Community systems, Trade Single Window, and National Single Window applications.

Trade in Africa has become a widely discussed topic, plagued by infrastructural, innovation, and technical challenges. These issues have hindered the process, affecting economic growth, impeding intra-country business, and slowing the development of regional economic corridors.

It is evident that a sustainable trade environment is essential to enhance trade, which currently lags behind international standards.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) came into effect in May 2019, holding the promise of transformation for the continent. It aims to foster and …

• Behind every discovery in the African energy industry, final investment decision (FID), and first oil announcement in our continent are companies of all sizes.
• Collectively, these companies are validating the long-held assertion by the Africa Energy Chamber (AEC) that the African continent represents the next frontier for energy exploration and production.
• Where international corporate divestment from Africa’s oil industry is occurring, smaller players are taking up the slack.

Behind every discovery, final investment decision (FID), and first oil announcement in our continent are companies of all sizes, advancing our energy industry and bringing Africans closer to realizing the energy security and prosperity their petroleum resources represent.

Collectively, these companies are validating the long-held assertion by the Africa Energy Chamber (AEC) that the African continent represents the next frontier for energy exploration and production.

Despite concerns over corporate divestment from the African oil and gas sector in recent years — moves …

• As AfCFTA becomes a part of the daily business environment, governments and businesses need to know how product standards and regulations protect traders and the society.
• Governments need to create an enabling environment for investors, which becomes more attractive to foreign direct investment if harmonization of standards exists.
• Other trading blocs such as the European Union are strong because they collaborate on standards and compliance regulations.

The African continent presents huge potential for growth, and the recently introduced African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement promises to underpin trade facilitation and economic expansion, becoming the largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organization in 1995.

The longest journey starts with a single step. Governments, public bodies, private institutions, and investors are engaging in conversations with a pointed focus on compliance standards, verification of conformities, and regulatory alignment to encourage safe import and export.

Africa’s current population …

Yield-chasing investors have poured money into Africa, but an emerging, recent challenge for the continent is that in a now higher interest rate environment, investors don’t need to come to Africa to find higher returns.

Even US treasuries are now yielding far more attractive yields than just a month ago: three-month government bonds offer 5.32 per cent, while 2-year bonds offer a yield above five per cent. Yields have risen in part in response to Fitch’s recent downgrade of the US from AAA to AA+, echoing S&P’s move in 2011.
African bond issuers, spooked by the high-interest rate environment and refusing to issue bonds above the psychological barrier of double-digit yields for Sub-Saharan African bonds, continue to wait it out on the sidelines.…

• A good leader must lead by example and practice what they preach, this demonstrates integrity, it builds trust and respect.
• Leaders must demand excellence: Only by going the extra mile and pushing ourselves, will we truly develop and standout.
• Leaders recognise the talent in their team and then push to unlock the talent. 

People often ask me, Anthony Onyemaechi Elumelu (TOE) how do I learn leadership. Should I go on a course? Buy a book? Get a mentor? Are leaders born, or can you become a leader?

Just as I say about business success, leadership has many components – luck, being in the right place at the right time. But I also believe that those talents and those disciplines that you bring, creating a vision and the resilience and focus that delivers that vision, can also forge your own personal leadership.

I was fortunate to work with Chief Ebitimi Banigo, …