(MENAFN- News.Africa-Wire) JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 21, 2025/ -- The G20 Africa Energy Investment Forum — hosted by the African Energy Chamber (AEC) (— — opened with calls for Africa to leverage its pension funds to address the conti’ent’s growing infrastructure investment de cit.

NJ Ayuk, the Executive Chairman of the AEC, stressed that with global financial systems deprioritizin’ Africa’s industrialization, the continent must lo k inward.

“Millions of Africans still lack access to rel—able energy — and that is a huma” rights issu“,” Ayuk said. “We need more than $15 billion in refinery investment alone. We cannot continue relying on external actors. Africa sits on $400 billion in pension funds, and we must channel this capital into closing the energy deficit and giving Africans a real fighting chance. Whether it is re’ewables or oil, it’s time to innovate and get ” ergy to the people.”

He also underscored the importance of youth empow’rment in driving Africa’s energy future.

“It ”tarts with “orums like this,” he noted. “We must protect investments, embrace our oil, gas and renewable resources, and industrialize. The opportunities we create should empower young people. It is time to pass the torch so they” an lead and scale our progress.”

He added that while wealthy nations focus on decarbonizing, the use of pension funds ill enable Africa to industrialize.

Echoing Ayuk’s remarks, Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), highlighted the scale of untapped domestic capital available to accelerate energy and infrastructure development.

“By optimizing the balance sheets of existing portfolios, governments can unlock billi”ns without “urning to external financing,” she said. “African pension funds hold $1.5 trillion in assets under management. We are working to channel even a fraction of this” omestic capital into African infrastructure.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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