By Ayomide Otitoju
René Awambeng, Founder and Managing Director of Premier Invest, will speak at the upcoming G20 African Energy Investment Forum in Johannesburg, where global investors, policymakers, and development institutions are set to explore strategies for mobilizing private capital and driving sustainable growth in emerging markets.
Awambeng’s participation highlights a growing presence of Africa-based financial leadership on the global stage, aligning with the G20’s focus on infrastructure finance, trade facilitation, and investment in sustainable development.
Premier Invest has been expanding its footprint across strategic sectors, having secured a licence from the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Authority in August 2025. The licence enables the company to engage in fund management, advisory, and complex transactions across energy, infrastructure, food security, and intra-African trade. Its newly launched group structure is aimed at transforming trade finance and investment across emerging markets, resonating with the G20’s agenda to strengthen supply chains, promote South-South trade, and catalyze private investment in Africa.
Earlier this year, Premier Invest hosted a Deal Room at the African Energy Week (AEW) 2025: Invest in African Energies conference, showcasing a portfolio of opportunities worth $13.4 billion across upstream, midstream, downstream, and renewable energy projects. The platform connected project sponsors, lenders, and strategic investors, reinforcing Premier Invest’s role as a capital-mobilization enabler on the continent.
At the G20 Forum, Awambeng is expected to outline strategies for transforming Africa from an “investment frontier” to a creator and exporter of investment solutions, leveraging its talent, ongoing reforms, and strengthening institutional frameworks.
“When African firms step up to structure capital and host platforms that transparently connect sponsors and investors, we shift the narrative from handouts to deal-making,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (AEC). “René’s leadership at Premier Invest and the AEW Deal Room demonstrate that Africa doesn’t just need external capital – it needs to drive how that capital is deployed, aligned with jobs, energy access, and trade outcomes.”
The G20 African Energy Investment Forum, hosted by the African Energy Chamber, will spotlight Africa’s private sector role in engaging global capital and advancing the G20’s vision for a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable investment ecosystem. For Premier Invest, the forum provides a platform to showcase its growing deal pipeline, recent regulatory milestones, and mission to position emerging-market investment at the center of global finance.
