The 2023 edition of the African Energy Week (AEW) conference and exhibition concluded in Cape Town with forward-looking remarks delivered by African Energy Chamber (AEC) Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk. Highlighting the week’s dialogue and deals, Ayuk committed to AEW returning bigger and better in 2024.

The conference week featured a strong slate of panel discussions, a series of billion-dollar deals, and a number of exciting networking functions that laid the foundation for new partnerships and collaborations. High-level executives and government representatives from both the African and global energy space united in Cape Town under a mandate to make energy poverty history.

Ayuk stated that he “hopes that this AEW has been beneficial for everybody. It is very important for our continent and for everyone that came that these discussions do not start and stop here, but we carry them to the cities, to Maputo, Kampala, Nairobi, Dakar, Algiers and Cairo and more. Bigger than that, we take this discussion beyond to London and New York›.”

Thanking the AEW 2023 sponsors and partners, Ayuk emphasized how support from these institutions has ensured the success of the event, allowing stakeholders to collaborate towards a common goal of alleviating energy poverty. “To our sponsors, we could not have done this without you: you pushed us, drove us and continued to encourage,” he added.

Through the AEW platform, Ayuk stated that, “We can open up Africa and our communities, so that we see ourselves bigger than our challenges.”

The event convened under the theme, The African Energy Renaissance: Prioritizing Energy Poverty, People, the Planet, Industrialization and Free Markets, highlighting the multi-faceted priorities of the continent. Discussions covered the entire energy value chain and associated sectors while promoting critical challenges and opportunities in the evolving African market. From deals to roundtables to investor summits to country-focused sessions, AEW 2023 was both diverse and highly strategic, enabling investment to flow into the African energy industry.

“As long as the Chamber is here, this industry will be inclusive,” Ayuk continued. “We deserve to make this better for you. We will be back next year: we intend to be better. We are going to strive to keep our narrative, that Africa deserves to produce energy in a sustainable and better way. It is about welcoming all forms of energy and being able to make energy poverty history.

Ayuk concluded with, “We will not back down: we will continue driving growth, ensuring that this discussion stays in Africa. Select Africa, let’s go bigger and better in 2024.”

Organized by the African Energy Chamber, #AEW2023 takes place this week in Cape Town under a mandate to make energy poverty history by 2030. Keep following www.aecweek.com for more exciting information and updates about Africa’s premier energy event.