Abidjan: The African Development Fund, the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group, has approved a grant of $4.23 million to implement the second phase of a project aimed at integrating natural capital into development financing across thirteen African countries. The beneficiary nations include Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, C´te d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
According to African Press Organization, the project benefits from in-kind contributions from partner institutions, such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the German public agency for international cooperation on sustainable development (GIZ), the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development, the Economic Commission for Africa, and the United Nations Environment Programme. These contributions aim to create an environment that promotes better utilization of natural capital and its integration into political and financial decision-making processes. The participating countries will also contribute to the project.
Scheduled for implementation between October 2026 and September 2029, the project is expected to produce outputs in policy, statistics, institutions, and knowledge, all contributing to the better integration of natural capital into development planning. The strategy is designed to strengthen policy-making systems, statistical systems, institutional frameworks, and knowledge-generation mechanisms needed by the regional member countries and the African Development Bank Group to assess natural capital and incorporate it into public policy-making.
The project will achieve its goals through an integrated set of measures, including policy support, technical assistance, assessments of statistical readiness, biodiversity financing tools, pilot projects to assess green wealth, capacity building, and peer learning. This initiative is intended to contribute to development that is resilient to climate change, nature-friendly, and inclusive.
Innocent Onah, Chief Natural Resources Officer at the African Development Bank Group, stated that the project would enable African countries to better identify, measure, and manage their natural wealth, while strengthening the evidence base that informs development financing, dialogue on sovereign policies, and the mobilization of green investments. He added that, in the long term, this could lead to tangible improvements in the development of the target countries in terms of GDP growth, increased foreign direct investment inflows, economic development, poverty reduction, improved employment, economic competitiveness, and financial and economic risk ratings.
Welligence Joins African Energy Week 2026 as Associate Partner to Advance Data-Driven Exploration
Cape town: Market intelligence company Welligence Energy Analytics has been confirmed as an Associate Partner of the African Energy Week (AEW) Conference and Exhibition, scheduled for October 12-16, 2026, in Cape Town. The company’s partnership underscores the increasing significance of data, analytics, and market intelligence in steering investment decisions in Africa’s evolving oil and gas sector.
According to African Press Organization, Africa’s upstream sector is entering a new phase of growth, characterized by frontier exploration, offshore discoveries, and LNG developments that are broadening investment opportunities across the continent. As governments vie for exploration capital, the demand for high-quality commercial intelligence, basin analysis, and licensing data is rising to support investment decisions. AEW 2026 offers Welligence a platform to engage directly with policymakers, operators, financiers, and project developers spearheading Africa’s next wave of energy investment.
Welligence has carved a niche as a leading provider of upstream data, commercial analysis, and market intelligence, assisting governments, operators, and investors with asset valuations, basin intelligence, licensing analysis, emissions analytics, and commercial benchmarking across global energy markets. Its research and advisory services are increasingly aiding stakeholders in identifying high-potential investment opportunities while enhancing the competitiveness of African upstream markets.
This expertise is highlighted in the company’s January 2026 report, “Sub-Saharan Africa: What to Look for in 2026,” which identifies Uganda, Kenya, Namibia, and Zimbabwe as Africa’s highest-potential frontier markets, while emphasizing ongoing investment opportunities in deepwater and LNG developments in Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, and Tanzania.
Beyond market analysis, Welligence has expanded its advisory work throughout West Africa, supporting governments on licensing rounds, mergers and acquisitions, exploration campaigns, and fiscal competitiveness. These services are assisting countries in strengthening acreage marketing strategies, improving bid-round participation, and positioning their hydrocarbon resources more effectively to international investors. As producers including Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Angola pursue ambitious exploration and production targets, data-driven investment promotion is becoming an increasingly crucial component of attracting upstream capital.
In today’s upstream market, access to reliable data is a competitive edge. Welligence is aiding governments and investors in better understanding Africa’s resource potential, evaluating opportunities, and deploying capital more effectively. Their participation at AEW 2026 signifies the growing role that market intelligence plays in driving investment across the continent, stated NJ Ayuk, the Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.
As Africa’s premier energy event, AEW brings together the policymakers, operators, financiers, and service providers shaping the next generation of oil and gas projects in Africa. The involvement of companies such as Welligence highlights the rising importance of market intelligence in supporting informed investment and commercial decision-making across the sector.