GABRIEL ONAGORUWA is the co-founder of international law firm Parsons. In this interview with BusinessDay’s Wasiu Alli, Onagoruwa explores how legal innovation is emerging as a key catalyst for bankable, transition-aligned infrastructure driving Africa’s energy pivot.
Given your experience advising on major energy transactions, what do you see as the most critical legal and financial obstacles to attracting greater private investment in Africa’s energy infrastructure?
Africa’s energy infrastructure gap is estimated to require over $100 billion in annual investment, and this represents one of the continent’s greatest economic opportunities. Yet despite abundant resources and growing demand, private capital remains cautious. The problem is rarely about a lack of opportunity, but rather a lack of bankability and legal certainty.
Inconsistent or underdeveloped regulatory frameworks have been identified as one of the most cited concerns by investors. Many energy projects, particularly in power generation, transmission, and renewables require transparent licensing regimes, stable feed-in tariffs and power purchase agreements (PPAs), clear land acquisition and grid access rules. In jurisdictions where policies change with administrations or where implementation is opaque, investors struggle to price risk effectively. Enforceability of contracts and the length of dispute resolution processes have also been identified as elements that increase investor perceived risk on the continent. Despite these challenges, the landscape is evolving.
Countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Senegal are reforming energy laws, launching independent power producer (IPP) frameworks, and embracing private-public partnerships (PPPs) and blended finance. There is also growing adoption of climate-aligned finance, with green bonds, ESG-linked project finance, and carbon credit monetisation increasingly featured in African energy deals. These instruments are bringing institutional capital and climate finance players to the table.
At Parsons, we help bridge the legal and commercial gaps that deter capital by advising on regulatory reform and structuring projects for bankability, negotiating balanced project documents (PPAs, EPCs, concession agreements), designing layered risk mitigation frameworks with DFIs and insurers, and leveraging our relationships with government, regulators, and financiers to align stakeholder interests. We combine deep sector experience with a practical, problem-solving approach that ensures energy transactions are not only compliant but also financeable and future-proof.
You have described Africa as a “core part of the global economy”. What specific sectors or trends are you seeing that reinforce that view right now?
The strategic importance of Africa to the global economy cannot be overstated given its vast natural and human resources. The continent holds significant reserves of critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements vital for the global shift toward renewable energy and electric mobility. Africa’s immense renewable energy potential, particularly in solar and wind, positions it as a future powerhouse in global decarbonisation efforts.
Moreover, as global supply chains undergo reconfiguration due to geopolitical shifts and climate risks, Africa’s strategic geographic location and improving infrastructure offer alternative trade and manufacturing routes. Its youthful, rapidly growing population also presents both a vibrant labor force and an emerging consumer market. In the context of accelerating technological change and sustainability goals, Africa is not just a resource hub but an increasingly essential driver of future global economic resilience and innovation.
On energy transition and global resource security, while there is a global shift toward renewable energy, Africa remains indispensable to global energy security and the energy transition itself. As you may already know, Africa accounts for around 7 per cent of global crude oil production, with countries like Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, and Egypt playing key roles in global supply chains. The commissioning of the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, the largest single-train refinery globally, positions Africa not only as a producer but also as a value-adder in the energy supply chain. Its recent import of U.S. crude underscores Africa’s deepening integration with global energy markets. If we consider critical minerals and their increasing global importance, Africa is endowed with transition minerals that are essential to decarbonisation.
The continent holds approximately 30 percent of the world’s mineral reserves, including over 50 percent of global cobalt reserves (mainly in the DRC), significant lithium deposits (Zimbabwe, Mali), and emerging graphite and rare earths exploration projects across countries like Namibia, Tanzania, and Mozambique. These resources are critical for electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels, making Africa indispensable to the clean energy revolution. From the human resource perspective, Africa is the youngest and fastest-growing continent, with a projected population of 2.5 billion by 2050, representing over 25 per cent of the global population.
This youth bulge presents both a massive labour force and a growing consumer market. According to the World Bank, urban consumption in Africa is expected to reach $2.5 trillion by 2030. This demographic dividend is driving investment in sectors like technology, infrastructure, fintech, and education. For instance, Lagos, Nairobi, and Cape Town have emerged as tech hubs, with increasing levels of VC funding flowing into African startups, particularly in fintech. The significance of Africa to the global economy is also highlighted by its importance to the global future of agriculture & food security. Africa has 60 per cent of the world’s uncultivated arable land, positioning it as a key player in future food security.
Agricultural exports are growing, with countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia increasing exports of cocoa, coffee, avocado, and horticulture. As the world grapples with supply shocks, Africa’s agricultural potential is increasingly recognized in climate-smart food systems and agro-processing. The launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the world’s largest free trade area by number of countries, also represents a transformative moment. AfCFTA has the potential to boost intra-African trade by over 50%, enhance supply chains, and attract manufacturing and logistics investments. It also signals Africa’s intent to be a rules-setting player in global trade, rather than a passive participant.As global powers recalibrate their engagement with emerging markets, Africa is increasingly becoming a geopolitical fulcrum. China, the U.S., the EU, and Gulf nations are intensifying their economic and diplomatic presence. Notably, the G20 recently admitted the African Union as a permanent member, a long-overdue recognition of Africa’s weight in global governance.
Read also: African private capital falls to $1.6bn as mega deals shrink — Report
How is the energy transition shaping the kinds of deals you are seeing on the continent, especially in oil-rich countries like Nigeria and Angola?
The energy transition is no longer a distant agenda; it is actively reshaping the types of deals, capital flows, and policy priorities across Africa. However, rather than a sudden shift away from fossil fuels, what we’re witnessing is a dual-track strategy of the monetisation of existing oil reserves while laying the groundwork for a gas-led and cleaner energy future. Countries like Nigeria and Angola remain heavily dependent on oil revenues. Oil still contributes up to 80% of export earnings and nearly 50 percent of government revenues in Nigeria. As such, oil production, divestments, and infrastructure upgrades continue to drive deal activity.
Although international oil companies (IOCs) such as Shell and ExxonMobil are divesting onshore and shallow water assets, this has created significant deal activity and opportunity for local/ indigenous players. Similarly, in Angola, Sonangol is undergoing a restructuring and privatisation program which is attracting private equity and infrastructure funds interested in strategic stakes and operational partnerships.
At the same time, there’s a strong policy push to prioritise gas, which is seen as a cleaner bridge fuel that can meet domestic energy needs, support industrialisation, and reduce emissions compared to diesel or coal. Nigeria is actively promoting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) under the Presidential CNG Initiative, targeting transportation and small-scale energy access. Angola is investing in LNG infrastructure and gas monetisation projects, including new gas gathering systems and regional export strategies. This shift is driving a new wave of deals in gas midstream and downstream infrastructure pipelines, processing plants, LNG terminals, and domestic gas utilisation schemes.
We also see that international financiers are particularly interested in projects that support energy access and reduce flaring. The climate finance agenda is now embedded in how deals are evaluated, funded, and structured. Development finance institutions (DFIs), export credit agencies (ECAs), and commercial banks are applying stricter criteria on ESG compliance and emissions transparency, climate resilience and just transition considerations, Community impact, gender inclusion, and governance standards. For oil and gas-rich countries, this means traditional upstream projects must now be paired with clear sustainability narratives, including carbon offset strategies, energy efficiency commitments, and gas-to-power conversion. Parsons works closely with clients to embed these ESG frameworks into early-stage deal structuring to ensure alignment with international finance requirements and mitigating reputational and regulatory risks.
With global interest in gas as a transition fuel, where does Africa stand in terms of bankable gas projects, and what role can legal advisers play in making them viable?
Africa is increasingly a critical supplier of natural gas, especially as European countries seek to diversify their sources due to energy security concerns. This positions Africa to play an even more pivotal role in the global gas market in future. Many African oil-producing nations have proactively developed policies to harness their gas reserves. For example, Nigeria’s National Gas Policy aims to expand domestic consumption and significantly boost exports. Angola’s National Gas Master Plan also outlines a long-term strategy to unlock the country’s vast gas reserves.
Major infrastructure projects such as the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, a planned transcontinental pipeline, reflect the scale of ambition to connect African gas supplies to broader markets, enhancing regional integration and export capacity. The political and regulatory environments across key gas-producing countries are rapidly evolving to support these initiatives, with reforms aimed at improving transparency, investor protection, and project bankability. There is also growing momentum around domestic gas monetisation, regional trading platforms, and LNG infrastructure as countries seek to maximise value addition and energy independence.
Parsons will work closely with trusted law firms across Africa to provide comprehensive legal support throughout the lifecycle of gas projects. Our expertise enables clients to navigate complex local regulations and commercial realities, ensuring projects are viable, compliant, and aligned with both domestic priorities and international standards. We also bring a forward-looking perspective, helping clients anticipate regulatory shifts, structure resilient contracts, and integrate ESG, climate, and community considerations from the outset building not only bankable but sustainable energy solutions for Africa and beyond.
Drawing from your experience working on high-impact deals with institutions like the IFC and NNPC, what key insights are shaping the foundation and vision into building this new practice?
Our experience advising on transactions involving global development institutions like the African Development Bank (AfDB), Africa Export Import Bank (Afreximbank), Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), International Finance Corporation and strategic national entities like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has provided us with a unique lens into the intersections of commercial ambition, policy imperatives, and institutional governance. These transactions are rarely straightforward.
They demand legal precision, political acuity, and an ability to harmonize diverse stakeholder interests. We bring these lessons and the mindset they cultivate into the heart of our firm’s DNA as we build a globally excellent law firm. Our experience in this space means we understand how to structure transactions that meet the compliance standards and risk tolerances of global development finance institutions, while remaining bankable and commercially attractive to the private sector. This is essential in Africa, where public-private partnerships and blended finance structures are increasingly used to bridge infrastructure and industrialisation gaps.
The firm is built on the insight that Africa’s growth will be fuelled by complex, multi-stakeholder transactions involving governments, DFIs, private capital, and communities. Our experience with these institutions therefore gives us a distinctive edge in this landscape. We combine institutional-grade rigor with private sector dynamism that is essential for the next generation of legal advisors that will shape Africa’s future.
How will Parsons practically support transactions across jurisdictions with varying legal systems and regulatory challenges?
Our team is composed of seasoned lawyers with multi-jurisdictional experience, having advised on landmark transactions and regulatory reforms across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. This international outlook enables us to translate the best global practices into local execution strategies. Our lawyers bring practical knowledge of sector-specific regulation from energy, finance, and telecoms to infrastructure, extractives, and agribusiness. We are adept at crafting tailored solutions that comply with local requirements while advancing global standards.
Our strategy is focused on developing a platform that will support clients on complex transactions across Africa’s fragmented legal systems by combining pan-African expertise, strategic office presence, and a trusted network of high-calibre relationship firms. We understand the nuances of operating across diverse regulatory environments and the importance of harmonising cross-border legal frameworks to facilitate investment and operational continuity. We will leverage this combined strategy to ensure that clients receive comprehensive, locally grounded, and future-focused legal services across the continent. As Africa rises in global importance, Parsons will stand ready to be the legal partner of choice for governments, corporates, and investors shaping their future.
