African Energy Sector Deserves Stronger Look From Investors-Jude Kearney

By Ajong Mbapndah L

Returns on many investments in Africa have been solid and rewarding, but African institutions need to do more in robustly marketing projects and the region as a whole as if their respective constituencies depend on them, says Jude Kearney, Managing Partner of the Global Corporate and Legal Advisory Firm ASAFO & CO Int'l. The African Energy Week (AEW) Indabas, and many other Africa focused conferences are great opportunities to have multilateral institutions and rating agencies highlight the industries, regions, and specific African countries where the investment environments are stable and encouraging and returns are good, says Jude Kearney.

Fielding questions from PAV after AEW 2023, where he was one of the prominent American faces leading panels and participating in discussions, Kearney noted with satisfaction that the very consistent messages of the Africa Energy Chamber and its international partners were resonating deeply into the energy sectors across the globe.

Kearney, who also serves as Chairman of the Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee of the Export-Import Bank of the United States spoke glowingly about US Institutional presence at AEW 2023 in the interview which also offered insights into the work of ASAFO & CO and multiple stakes in the African energy landscape.

What is your take on the recent African Energy Week?

Jude Kearney: As I told the organizers of this year’s event--while I was still on the ground in Cape Town--this year’s AEW was by far the best and most consequential. I say that from the standpoint of a few measurements of this conference. First, the number of delegates and the sizes of key and powerful delegations is unmatched. It’s an indication that the very consistent messages of the organizers, the Africa Energy Chamber and its international partners has resonated deeply into the energy sectors across the globe. Second, the key messages of the primary sponsor, the Africa Energy Chamber, which seemed possibly contrarian in the past, have become the common language about the best ways for Africa to utilize its energy resources. Finally, without naming them, categories stakeholders in the global energy ecosystem were historically timid about attending AEW. There were no substantive categories of energy sector stakeholders absent from this year’s events.

This year’s AEW has set a very high bar. I can’t wait to see what AEW will do next year to match or even outdo this year’s event.

You participated in several panel discussions; can you sum up the messages you sort to highlight?

Jude Kearney: I am frequently asked to speak at AEW, with the topics varying depending on the trending topics at any given AEW. This year, I was asked to participate in several discussions at the conference. This year in particular I was asked to speak and or moderate in regards to issues dealing with 1.) the importance of substantive partnership between US energy sector players (public and private) and their African counterparts in regards to very active energy production and energy development initiatives in the various African countries,  2.) the relevance in Africa of the highly publicized global rush among geopolitical superpowers to secure a fair share of what are called “critical minerals”, and 3.) broadly speaking, how to secure adequate funding from bilateral governments, multilateral institutions and private sector investors and lenders such that the vast energy investments which are needed in Africa can move forward. There was bold discussion, lots of agreement, some civil disagreement and ultimately a resolution among the participants that Africa’s energy resources and its needs for energy development demand that we all push forward in our respective capacities to improve the chances that these important development initiatives take place—and that Africa and Africans must as a whole be in the driver’s seat.

What meaning did you read in the presence of Deputy Assistant Secretary Josh Volz at the AEW?

Jude Kearney: That is an interesting question, and one that is relevant. The conference has not had a lot of US government official participation in the past, but it seemed quite relevant that this year would be the year when some participation seemed timely and relevant. Moreover, as you know, Mr. Volz spoke in a number of panels and presentations at the conference and was exceptionally well received. Moreover, he was a panelist in the panel that I chaired on the issue of the importance of exploring greater US Africa collaboration in the development, production and use of Africa’s energy resources and he was again very thoughtful in his remarks. I in fact, on a point of personal privilege as the moderator of the panel, to personally thank Josh for his presence and his remarks. Indeed, I informed him that one of the first times I ever set foot in South Africa was as a delegate in a trade mission with a predecessor U.S. Secretary of Energy, Hazel O’Leary. Like his presence this year at the conference, in that 1994 visit to South Africa, Secretary O’Leary showed great and timely good will towards South Africa’s future energy development and its development overall.

As someone who has attended the AEW before and has a better grasp of African realities, what did you make of the message he presented?

Jude Kearney: I’m actually reluctant to either characterize or second guess the meaning of the clear words that Josh spoke. I have been in his exact shoes before, so I am personally aware of the important objectives of his presence and presentation. (I was, like Josh, a Deputy Assistant Secretary myself many years ago, at the US Department of Commerce.) As representatives of our respective government Agencies, senior representatives are encouraged to show great support for the gathering and to impart some of the basic goals of their agencies in the industries/sectors being discussed. Josh did a good job on both fronts, and I think he encountered lots of appreciation for his presence.

Considering the importance and investment opportunities in the energy sector, have you been satisfied with the presence or participation of US corporate interests at events like the AEW?

Jude Kearney: I reserve the feeling of being “satisfied” to the absolute highest level of achievement for AEW and the African Energy sector. What I mean is, I don’t want any of us who are engaged in this effort of seeking energy access and energy-fueled African development to feel self-satisfied until we have achieved a much greater reduction of energy poverty and a much more flourishing set of economies in Africa brought about by the successful and increasingly climate-friendly use of the continent’s natural resources. With that as a constant goal, I do feel tremendous gratitude to the increasing numbers of stakeholders who are coming to AEW and to those investors who are investing in African energy projects each year.

To investors and corporate interests not familiar with potential and opportunities, how can you make the case for them to take a fresh look at Africa and participate more at signature events like the Africa Energy Week?

Jude Kearney: Very good question, Ajong, and one that I love responding to. Investors the world over, including US and Western investors among others, are frequently inclined to strongly vet the conditions of a proposed investment. Such vetting might involve the engagement of advisors knowledgeable about the target investment or the target jurisdiction, but it might also include searches for open sources of economic statistics and country ratings and the like. In the case of many African countries, the justification for investment exists: empirical data on both corporate and capital markets investments in Africa show greater than average returns for investors than in many other destinations. So, in my public comments and in the comments made by others focused on the African markets, we state as a matter of investigative fact that returns on many investments in Africa have been solid and rewarding. But Africa and prospective African investment partners know that they shouldn’t leave the issue to sporadic online investigations. The projects and transactions that are objectively worthy of investment in Africa should be robustly marketed and the region as a whole should be marketed by African institutions as if their respective constituencies depend on it. AEW, Indabas and many other Africa focused conferences are great opportunities to have multilateral institutions and rating agencies highlight the industries, regions and specific African countries where the investment environments are stable and encouraging and returns are good.

How can ASAFO & CO that you lead help in the building of corporate bridges between the USA and Africa?

Jude Kearney: Let me brag a bit here. As you know, I have been in the corporate legal arena for decades and have been a senior partner/shareholder in some of the most prominent firms in the world. Each of them had unique specialties that made them quite relevant to the broad requirements of African transactions and Africa’s economic development. But ASAFO is arguably the next level of a set of sophisticated advisors in the Africa space: that is, we are a firm of unparalleled corporate and transactional expertise, while also being a truly global AFRICAN lawfirm. Our firm and its practitioners are literally equally at home in the finance, natural resource and mining centers around the world as we are on the ground in ANY African city, town or village. We understand the typical African transaction from every angle. So, we often serve as a natural bridge for our clients (from the US and other non-African jurisdictions) who are not yet as experienced in Africa as others.

You have been one of the most prominent faces at successive editions of the AEW, what changes have you seen, any recommendations for the organizers to work on and is it safe for them to count on your presence for the 2024 edition?

Jude Kearney: As briefly mentioned earlier in this conversation, I have seen phenomenal growth in the size of the conferences (starting with 100s of participants at AEW’s predecessor Africa Oil and Power in 2016 to now several thousands) as well as the message. Because the Conference—and its sponsor Africa Energy Chamber—have gained the attention of the entire public and private sector parts of the African energy sector, the requirement to evolve the discourse to be able to speak the entire spectrum of the sector has been fully met by the organizers and their partners. The audience has become more sophisticated and engaged over the years and the messages that emanate from the conferences have become much more global in their application.

*Culled from November Issue of PAV Magazine. For more information on Asafo and Co visit www.asafoandco.com