In a continent blessed with abundant oil, gas, and renewable energy resources, African leaders are once again asking a pressing question: will these riches continue to fuel the economies of others, or can Africa finally chart a path of shared prosperity? That question framed much of the discussion at the Africa Content Forum, a key segment of the 2025 Africa Oil Week in Accra, Ghana, where calls for collaboration rather than competition took centre stage.

Delivering the keynote address, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, represented by the Director of Corporate Services, Dr Abdulmalik Halilu, warned that no African country can fully develop its oil and gas sector in isolation. Unlocking the continent’s true potential, he said, requires cross-border partnerships, coordinated policies, and joint investments.

“Africa holds more than 10 percent of the world’s crude oil reserves and eight percent of proven natural gas resources, alongside critical materials for renewable energy,” Halilu reminded the audience. “Yet much of this wealth is exported raw to developed nations, with little trade among ourselves. If our oil and gas wealth is to mean anything, it must fuel intra-African trade, industrialisation, value retention, and prosperity.”

The message was clear: Africa’s energy future cannot be secured by countries working alone. Instead, there must be a deliberate effort to move from fragmented national strategies to a continental framework for local content.

According to Halilu, such a framework must include strong governance, enforcement, human capital development, and cross-border deployment of expertise. Without these, he argued, the continent risks repeating the same cycle of resource export with little value retained at home.

He also stressed the need for policy environments that reward research and innovation, pointing out that local content strategies anchored only on procurement targets will stagnate if they do not invest in technology and development. “Local content policy without R&D will remain static,” he said.

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To illustrate his point, Halilu drew on a global metaphor: “Just as a Boeing or Airbus is built with components from different countries, we can build a thriving African energy sector by specialising and trading with one another, where each country focuses on its comparative advantage.”

But beyond technology and trade, he called for a shift in mindset. Too often, he argued, local content is treated as a corporate social responsibility initiative rather than an economic necessity. “It is about ensuring that capital stays within our borders, and that our nations build the technological and industrial capacity to compete on a global scale. Let us build an African energy sector that is owned, operated, and sustained by Africans. A sector that provides jobs for our youth, creates wealth for our nations, and brings true prosperity to our continent.”

The forum itself reinforced those themes across four panel sessions. The first panel examined strategies for African content growth, with panellists agreeing that deliberate planning, strong policies, and bold leadership are essential if the continent is to break away from dependency and chart a homegrown path.

The second panel focused on building African expertise, with discussions on how to strengthen local capacity and ensure knowledge is transferred across generations and borders.

The third panel turned to cross-border projects and knowledge exchange. Here, panellists underscored the power of breaking silos and sharing best practices to accelerate progress, stressing that partnership is not only desirable but necessary in a competitive global energy market.

The final panel, moderated by NCDMB’s General Manager of Corporate Communications, Dr Obinna Ezeobi, centred on the critical issue of funding African content. Discussions highlighted the importance of sustainable financing, innovative funding options, and the need for African oil and gas companies to decarbonise their operations to remain attractive to investors. Compliance with global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards was identified as a non-negotiable requirement in today’s investment landscape.

The Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) model was also showcased as a success story, demonstrating how structured funding has helped Nigeria build capacities and capabilities in its oil and gas sector. Panellists argued that similar models, adapted to local realities, could be replicated across Africa to close funding gaps and accelerate progress.

With policymakers, oil and gas operators, service providers, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) from across Africa and beyond in attendance, the Africa Content Forum sent a strong signal. The message was that Africa’s strength lies in its diversity of resources, expertise, and experience, and that the only way to harness this for true prosperity is through collaboration.

For decades, Africa’s oil and gas wealth has powered industries abroad while leaving its own economies vulnerable. Now, the continent faces a choice: continue as suppliers of raw resources to the world or unite to build a resilient, interconnected energy sector that serves Africans first. At Accra, the call was unmistakable, collaboration is no longer optional, it is survival.

Meiza Nigeria