The African Energy Chamber (AEC) has announced the participation of Yaw Amoateng Afriyie, the deputy chief executive officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) at the African Energy Week (AEW) conference and exhibition, Africa’s premier event for the energy sector, which will take place from 18-21 October in Cape Town
As a government parastatal, the GIPC is tasked with promoting investments across a number of key sectors in Ghana, including agriculture, mining, fintech, renewable energy, oil & gas and construction. Afriyie has been instrumental in leading the company alongside chief executive officer Reginald Rofi Grant, with the deputy coming to AEW to discuss investment in a post-Covid-19, energy transition context.
For his part, Afriyie, as a management and political risk professional, has extensive strategic experience regarding matters affecting business and investment in sub-Saharan Africa. In his role as the deputy chief executive officer, Afriyie continues to drive the organisation’s strategic direction and business development objectives.
Through the works of GIPC and a supporting investor-friendly regulatory environment, Ghana has emerged as a desirable investment destination for global investors with the country’s foreign direct investment increasing by 39% to US$2.6bn in 2021, ranking second in West Africa and seventh in Africa, according to the World Investment Report 2022. Currently, the country is targeting universal access to electricity by 2030, hoping to maximise the country’s 0.8 trillion cubic feet of gas and 660mn barrels of oil reserves whilst diversifying the energy mix with renewable energy deployment.
International players including Eni, bp and Tullow have launched massive investment drives across Ghana’s hydrocarbon sector with projects such as the Tema Liquefied Natural Gas Import Terminal and the Sankofa Gas project, creating a positive outlook for the country’s energy landscape. However, more needs to be done from an investment perspective to unlock the full potential of the country’s energy sector. In this regard, Afriyie will be key in promoting investment opportunities across Ghana’s high potential sector during AEW 2022 in Cape Town.
Prior to joining GIPC, Afriyie worked as the managing director of Elmina Advisory Ltd, West Africa head at Africa Matters Ltd and with FTI Consulting and Africa Practice, London, where he has gained vast experience in researching and analysing investment trends across various industries. By joining Ghanaian energy market executives including Freddie Blay, board chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, chief executive at Ghana’s downstream petroleum regulator, the National Petroleum Authority, at AEW 2022, Afriyie will leverage his expertise to make a strong case for investment, particularly regarding capital-intensive projects such as Aker Energy’s Pecan Floating Production Storage and Offloading facility and Springfield E&P’s Afina as the country seeks to become a net oil and gas exporter whilst meeting domestic energy needs.
