René Awambeng, Founder and Managing Director of Premier Invest, is set to speak at the upcoming G20 African Energy Investment Forum in Johannesburg, where global investors, policymakers and development institutions convene to advance the growth agenda aligned with G20 strategic priorities. His participation underscores a shift: Africa-based financial leadership engaging directly in the global arena, and ties closely to the G20’s focus on mobilizing private capital for infrastructure, trade finance and sustainable growth in emerging markets.

Premier Invest has been actively expanding its footprint and capabilities, securing its licence from the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Authority in August 2025. The milestone paves the way for fund management, advisory and complex transaction activities across strategic sectors including energy, infrastructure, food security and intra-African trade. At the same time, Premier Invest’s recently launched group structure is designed to transform trade finance and investment across emerging markets – a proposition that resonates with the G20’s agenda to build resilient supply chains, foster South-South trade and catalyze private investments in Africa’s development priorities.

Adding to this momentum, Premier Invest hosted a Deal Room at the African Energy Week (AEW) 2025: Invest in African Energies conference, presenting a portfolio of energy and infrastructure opportunities totaling $13.4 billion across upstream, midstream, downstream and renewables sectors. The platform connected project sponsors, lenders and strategic investors, underlining Premier Invest’s role as a capital-mobilization enabler on the continent.

Against this backdrop, Awambeng’s participation in the G20 Investment Forum – hosted by the African Energy Chamber (AEC) – serves to connect Premier Invest’s growing momentum with the broader G20 investment ecosystem, where cross-border capital, blended finance structures and African-led platforms are becoming central to driving sustainable development. Awambeng is expected to address how Africa can evolve from being viewed as an “investment frontier” to becoming a creator and exporter of investment solutions, harnessing its expanding talent pool, ongoing structural 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 hand-outs to deal-making,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC. “René’s leadership at Premier Invest and the Deal Room at AEW show 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.”

As the G20 African Energy Investment Forum prepares to convene, the event will spotlight how Africa’s private sector leadership can engage with global capital flows and play a central role in advancing the G20’s vision for a resilient, inclusive and sustainable investment ecosystem. For Premier Invest, the forum offers a platform to showcase its expanding deal pipeline, recent regulatory milestones and broader mission to position emerging-market investment at the center of global finance.