West Africa can build $3tn energy market by 2035 through integration — Yahyah

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West Africa could unlock a cumulative $3 trillion energy market by 2035, but only if its 16 nations abandon fragmented national strategies in favour of an integrated regional framework, according to Suleiman Yahyah, Chairman of Rosehill Group Limited Advisory Limited.

Speaking at the West Africa Refined Fuel Market (WAFRFM) Conference 2026 in Abuja, Yahyah said achieving the ambitious target would require a common regional energy framework that allows seamless cross-border operations, trade and investment.

Presenting a paper titled “Driving Infrastructure Growth Through Strategic Regional Partnership,” he said licensed operators should be able to conduct business across West African countries under harmonised rules.

“We need to harmonise activities so that an operator licensed in Ghana can operate and trade in Nigeria. That means having common product specifications, shared data standards, modern energy contracts, regional infrastructure and an effective dispute resolution mechanism. If we achieve this, it is possible to build a cumulative $3 trillion market by 2035,” he said.

Yahyah noted that despite accounting for about 20 per cent of the world’s population and producing 7.5 per cent of global hydrocarbons, Africa still has more than 600 million people living in energy poverty and over one billion without access to clean energy.

Source: Wikipedia