EKP Advisors
Infrastructure Advisory · Africa & Southeast Asia

Closing Africa's
Infrastructure
Delivery Gap.

EKP Advisors turns viable infrastructure concepts into bankable, closeable transactions — across water, power, and hydropower — from first feasibility through to financial close.

USD 2.5T
African infrastructure
in the pipeline
10%
of feasibility projects
reach financial close
USD 2B+
infrastructure capex pipeline
managed at principal level
Representative experience
500+ MW
Hydropower pipeline · East & Southern Africa
70,000 m³/day
Naivasha bulk water PPP · USD 100M
USD 77M
Farm-in executed to close · Gabon
10+
African sovereigns & multilaterals
negotiated at principal level
Closing the gap
Five structural market failures — and how EKP addresses each
8–9 yr avg. concept-to-close · DBSA
The Project Preparation Gap
Feasibility, environmental assessment, and risk analysis are chronically underfunded. Projects sit idle for nearly a decade before capital moves.
Operator-grade preparation from concept to bankability — no handoffs, no gaps.
Private sector = 3% of PIDA investment · AfDB
Blended Finance Mis-structuring
Very few practitioners can architect a stack integrating concessional capital, DFI debt, political risk instruments, and commercial equity into a single investable transaction.
Direct capital stack development across water and hydropower in Africa — DFI term sheets, blended finance windows, and government negotiation handled at principal level.
USD 60B annual funding gap · BCG 2025
The Operator–Capital Divide
DFIs cannot assess operational viability. Developers cannot speak to capital providers on their terms. Viable deals die in this gap.
As active developer and IC member, EKP sits on both sides simultaneously.
55% drop in Chinese infra inflows · 2022
Retraction of Traditional Intermediaries
BRI has contracted sharply. ODA advisory budgets are being cut. The layer that historically prepared African projects is hollowing out, leaving orphaned deals.
Independent practitioners with live DFI relationships fill this gap directly.
Coordination = top execution blockage · BCG 2026
Government PPP Capacity Gap
Governments lack the capability to structure competitive PPP tenders or negotiate with sophisticated investors. Deals are captured, derailed, or abandoned.
Negotiated with ministers and DFI counterparts directly across 10+ African markets.
Why these failures compound
Poor preparation causes information asymmetry. Asymmetry mis-structures the finance. Mis-structured finance fails at IC. Failed deals deepen the ODA retraction. Addressing all five in a single mandate is disproportionately more effective than five separate advisers.
Four mandate structures

Each engagement is scoped to the transaction and handled personally by Dr Ernest Kofi Poku.

Project Origination & Development
Retained · Co-Developer
Blended Finance & Capital Stack
Deal Advisory · Structuring
PPP Structuring & Execution
Developer · Capital Partner
Independent Portfolio & IC Review
NED · IC Adviser
Pro Bono · First Engagement

2-Day Project Diagnostic & Bankability Assessment

A structured two-day review of your project materials — not a meeting. You receive a frank, operator-grade assessment of bankability gaps and a prioritised action plan toward financial close.

Report covers
  • Preparation & bankability gap
  • Capital stack architecture
  • DFI & government readiness
  • Key commercial & political risks
  • Priority actions to financial close

To request a diagnostic:

Prior Transactions & Experience
Mpatamanga Hydropower, Malawi · 350 MW
Scatec ASA, IFC, EDF & Government of Malawi · Tripartite Relationship Agreement
Participated in structuring negotiations for the tripartite Relationship Agreement between Scatec ASA, IFC, EDF, and the Government of Malawi — one of Sub-Saharan Africa's largest hydropower transactions in active development.
Naivasha Water, Kenya · 70,000 m³/day
PIDG · WaterConnect · Invest International · USD 100M consortium
Full consortium structuring, feasibility studies, and bid execution for a bulk water PPP serving the Naivasha industrial corridor — one of Kenya's largest private water infrastructure transactions.
Ariya Finergy · Strategy & IP Mandate · Dubai, UAE
Battery storage & power stabilisation · Africa & Southeast Asia · Consultant → Director
Retained as strategy consultant to develop the business plan and IP protection strategy for a battery storage and power stabilisation start-up operating across Africa and Southeast Asia. Delivered a three-month mandate covering market positioning, commercial strategy, and IP filing in the Kenyan market. Mandate converted to a Non-Executive Director appointment on the strength of the engagement — providing ongoing strategic governance and market development advisory to the founding team.
Scatec ASA · Hydropower · East & Southern Africa · 500+ MW
DRC · Rwanda · Madagascar · Malawi · World Bank, IFC & DFI financing
Developed and managed a 500+ MW hydropower pipeline across four markets at SVP level. World Bank, IFC, and DFI financing terms negotiated directly. Also led evaluation of floating solar opportunities co-located on hydropower reservoirs across East and Southern Africa.
Ophir Energy · Gabon · USD 77M Farm-in
Exploration block acquisition · Term sheet to financial close
Full deal execution across Gabon exploration blocks from term sheet to financial close. Subsequently led negotiation of OMV's exit from the consortium.
Ophir Energy · Kalimantan Gas Field, Indonesia
USD 40M gas & condensate asset · VP-level P&L
VP-level P&L responsibility on a USD 40M gas and condensate asset in Kalimantan. New field brought on-stream; government approval secured for a 10 mmscfd expansion.
About the Principal

EKP Advisors is led by Dr Ernest Kofi Poku — former Executive Director of Africa Water Infrastructure Development Ltd and currently Non-Executive Director and Investment Committee Member at AECF, a USD 300M DFI-backed blended finance fund. A Chartered Engineer and Chartered Director with a PhD from Cranfield University, he has spent the past decade in senior development and operations roles across water and hydropower infrastructure in Africa — most recently leading a USD 2B+ hydropower pipeline at SVP level with Scatec ASA across DRC, Rwanda, Madagascar, and Malawi, and running a USD 20M+ revenue water company with 60,000 m³ per day of live production. His DFI engagement is direct and recent: IFC, World Bank, AfDB, and Proparco negotiated at principal level across Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Ghana, and Egypt.

Academic
🎓 PhD — Cranfield University
🎓 MBA — Rotterdam School of Management (Sainsbury Fellow)
🎓 BEng — University of Bristol
Professional
🏛 INSEAD Independent Directors Programme, IDP-76 (2026)
📋 Chartered Director, Institute of Directors (UK)
⚡ Chartered Petroleum Engineer & Fellow, Energy Institute
📊 Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI

To discuss a project, a mandate, or the pro bono diagnostic — reach out directly. Every enquiry is handled personally.

Dubai, UAE