Anibor Kragha has been re-elected as Executive Secretary of the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARDA) for a second term in a unanimous vote by the organization. Having held the position since 2020, Kragha has led the organization through some of the world’s most challenging times, with his re-election serving as a testament to his commitment to championing a new era of energy security in Africa.
Kragha’s re-election speaks to his ability and success in effectively leading the organization and delivering results. During his first term, Kragha not only created value for the organization by promoting its objectives, improving interaction between African refiners and distributors and international marketing, trading, engineering and financial service companies, but has built strong and long-lasting relationships with key players from across both the African and global energy sector.
On the investment side, Kragha has reiterated his focus on improving financing channels for downstream players. Kragha is not only an advocate for the establishment of the African Energy Transition Bank – an African-based financial institution that aims to provide access to financing for African energy projects – but has been instrumental in opening new capital channels for downstream players. Recognizing the role the private sector will play in expanding the downstream market, Kragha continues to drive the narrative that Africa’s more-than 56 development finance institutions needs to step up and finance Africa’s energy future. His engagement with stakeholders, ability to navigate challenges and commitment to advancing Africa’s downstream sector all represent key attributes that led to his re-election.
Meanwhile, Kragha has been a long-standing supporter of investing in Africa’s infrastructure projects. According to Kragha, energy security represents a short-term priority in Africa while driving the energy transition represents a long-term objective. With more than 600 million people without access to electricity and 900 million without access to clean cooking solutions, scaling up infrastructure developments through the construction and upgrading of refineries, pipelines and import-export terminals represent the solution to driving long-term and sustainable socioeconomic growth in Africa. Kragha has been steadfast in his commitment to strengthening energy security in Africa, advocating for strong, aligned government policies, sustainable financing mechanisms and the development of widespread supply chains through investments in refining, storage and distribution.
However, he correspondingly recognizes the significant impacts climate change continues to pose on the continent as well as the need to transition to a cleaner energy future. In this scenario, he has and continues to be a strong advocate for a robust energy mix; the establishment of carbon credits and an African carbon credit trading platform to accelerate the creation of quality credits that are sought globally; and the advancement in the development of cleaner fuels such as natural gas. Under his leadership, ARDA is working towards partnering with industry on the development of an African Downstream Transition Plan which will enable the organization to determine key areas in need of investment on a decade-by-decade basis.
By facilitating dialogue between African downstream players and international investors, advocating for the maximization of crude oil in Africa through the production and distribution of cleaner fuels via integrated storage and distribution infrastructure, and providing tangible financial solutions for African countries, Kragha continues to deliver a unified voice regarding Africa’s energy future.
“We are proud to see Anibor Kragha being re-elected for a second term as Executive Secretary at ARDA. Since his appointment in 2020, Kragha has led the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty caused by geopolitical factors and various other market-related challenges. And despite all of this, Kragha has been resilient, not only ensuring the organization is surviving but is thriving. During his first term, Kragha played an instrumental part in expanding the downstream sector through engaging with stakeholders, offering tangible solutions to challenges while promoting Africa’s needs in the current global energy climate. We are looking forward to what Kragha will do during his next term, and as the voice of the African energy sector, offer our support to him and ARDA as they continue to drive Africa into a new era of market growth and success,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.
