NJ Ayuk, Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (www.EnergyChamber.org), delivered a keynote lecture titled “African Energy Agenda: Prospects and Challenges” at Russia’s HSE University’s on March 31 – shedding light on the African continent’s energy prospects and challenges. The event was organized by the HSE Center for African Studies and supported by the Roscongress Foundation, with Vsevolod Sviridov, Deputy Director of the Center for African Studies, moderating the discussion.
Anastasia Likhacheva, Dean of the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, welcomed participants and underscored Africa’s vast potential as the world’s largest undeveloped energy market. She emphasized Russia’s readiness to bridge the knowledge gap and tackle key challenges hindering Africa’s energy development.
Sviridov outlined the results of the research on African energy markets conducted by the Center’s experts in the expert-analytical handbook Africa 2025: Prospects and Challenges (the chapter “African resources to African markets: making mining and energy work for Africa”) (https://apo-opa.co/4jklRhR). “One of the biggest challenges faced by the African countries is the lack of reliable data on the state of the African energy sector. For example, we don’t know the exact number of diesel generators situated in Africa and the amount of electricity they produce,” Sviridov noted.
During his presentation Ayuk highlighted key successes in Africa’s energy sector, emphasizing the significance of Russian-African energy cooperation and explored opportunities for Russian involvement in developing regional energy markets, providing valuable insights into the future of Africa’s energy landscape
“What Africa really needs is empowerment. It’s not the assistance, but the right to shape its future development. This affects, among other things, the energy sector,” he said, adding that Russian-African cooperation in the energy sector has significant potential.
“For example, Gazprom is looking at the projects in the field of gas motor fuel and compressed natural gas, and Rosatom has started construction of a nuclear power plant in Egypt,” Ayuk noted.
Meanwhile, he pointed out that there was great demand for Russian expertise and experience in Africa’s energy sector.
“We need full-depth analysis of the African energy sector to understand the prospects of its long-term development. This is a big challenge that African governments and the private sector are currently facing. That is why we appreciate our partnership with Russian think tanks,” Ayuk said, highlighting the Africa 2025 Handbook. “It is a source of valuable knowledge that supports activities at the level of government agencies, business leaders of all levels and international organizations.”
During the session, Ayuk emphasized that Africa offers young people unique career opportunities in various sectors.
“You need to be focused on doing something big and important. You have to be a problem solver, very ambitious and ready to contribute to lives of others. In Africa, you can find so many challenges and so many opportunities at the same time. And one more tip that I want to give is to be brave enough,” he said.
Closing the event, Andrey Maslov, Director of the Center for African Studies, expressed his gratitude to Ayuk for the informative lecture and highlighted the importance of knowledge and experience sharing for maintaining and developing Russian-African contacts, including in the energy sector.
“For us it’s a great pleasure to host the African Energy Chamber here, in the HSE University. We hope to continue the expert and analytical dialogue, conduct joint projects including those involving students and strengthen our cooperation in the future.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.