Home

Legal, Tax & Transition Finance Expertise Across Africa's Energy & Resource Sector

I help governments, investors, and businesses navigate energy, extractives, and climate transactions across West and Central Africa — from regulatory compliance and deal structuring to climate finance and capital access.

 

Carl Mbeng, Esq. LL.M., PMP

14+

YEARS EXPERIENCE

13

MARKETS COVERED

$10B+

COMPACTS REVIEWED

20+

TRANSACTIONS ADVISED

EN/FR

FULLY BILINGUAL
ADVISORY EXPERIENCE WITH
IFCWorld BankUSAID Power AfricaAfDBGET.investDeloitteGIZ

RESOURCES

Free tools and intelligence

Practical resources for developers, investors, and advisors working in African energy and extractives markets. Download free — no spam, no paywall.
SELF-ASSESSMENT DIAGNOSTIC

Bankability Scorecard

Score your project across 11 phases — from land tenure to financial close — for solar, small hydro, and mini-grid developers.

DUE DILIGENCE TOOL

Energy Audit Check List

Technical site assessment checklist for mini-grid and Commercial & Industrial (C&I) power projects.

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

Importer's Guide to Solar

Legal framework, exemptions, and import procedure for clean energy equipment in Cameroon.

ANNOTATED REFERENCE

PPA & Concession Term Sheet

22 annotated provisions for IPP and concession negotiations in OHADA/CEMAC.

READINESS DIAGNOSTIC

Transmission Interconnection Diagnostic

Readiness diagnostic for cross-border transmission and
interconnection projects.

ADVISORY SESSION

Book a 45-Min Market Briefing

Structured one-on-one briefing on any market in my
coverage — regulatory landscape, licensing, tariffs, bankability risks, and deal structuring.

$100

ADVISORY CAPABILITIES

Four ways I help clients

From regulatory compliance to climate finance structuring — advisory that moves from analysis to deal close.

01

Energy & Climate Advisory

Transaction advisory, regulatory reform, ESG due diligence, project structuring, and blended finance design for energy and climate projects.
PPAsMini-gridsIPP licensingESG DDBlended finance

02

Legal & Tax Advisory

OHADA corporate law, energy and mining licensing, tax structuring, PPP frameworks, contract negotiation, and regulatory representation across CEMAC and ECOWAS.

OHADALicensingTaxPPPContracts
03

Capital Access & Grant Advisory

Sourcing, qualifying, packaging, and placing grants, concessional funding, and DFI capital for businesses and project developers in frontier markets.
GrantsDFI accessGuaranteesRBF

04

Investment & Fund Advisory

Climate finance practice design, green bond frameworks, NDC-aligned instrument structuring, and fund management advisory for investment banks and fund managers.

Green bondsSLBsNDC financeFund design
NEWSLETTER

BASIS — Africa Energy, Climate & Capital Intelligence

Monthly intelligence for the people making the decisions. Not what is happening — what it means for your deal.

Three pillars of coverage

Each issue delivers a deal insight, a regulatory watch item, and one honest opinion — drawn from active advisory work across thirteen African markets.
Energy & Power IPPs, mini-grids, PPAs, grid access, utility reform, generation projects
Extractives & Resources
Oil & gas, critical minerals, upstream licensing, LNG, resource finance
Climate & Capital
Climate finance flows, NDC implementation, green bonds, DFI capital
Landing_Image_for_BASIS-removebg-preview

Latest Insights

ABOUT

Carl Mbeng

Energy, Extractives, Climate & Infrastructure Lawyer

I am an independent advisor specialising in legal, tax, and transition finance for the energy, extractives, and climate sector across West and Central Africa. Over 14 years I have worked with MDBs, DFIs, governments, and private sector clients on transaction advisory, regulatory reform, ESG due diligence, and climate finance structuring — in some of the most complex and fragile markets on the continent.

I publish BASIS — monthly intelligence on Africa’s energy, extractives, and climate capital markets — and am building a structured climate finance intelligence capability tracking where capital actually flows across Sub-Saharan Africa.

MARKETS COVERED

IFCIFC / World Bank — Mission 300 compact review, ESMAP mini-grid assessment, 13 countries
RTIUSAID Power Africa — $15M regional programme lead, DRC & Central Africa, 10+ transactions
DLTDeloitte / USAID WEAP — Regulatory & policy lead, 10+ ECOWAS countries, 20+ transactions
CLGCenturion Law Group — Director Central Africa, legal, tax & transaction advisory across 6+ countries

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

  • PhD Candidate – Doctoral Research in Energy & Climate Finance
  • Master’s Degree in Applied Taxation (Specialization: Energy Taxation) – University of Douala, Cameroon
  • Master’s Degree in Business Law – University of Douala, Cameroon
  • Master’s Degree in International Relations – International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC), Yaoundé
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Business Law – University of Yaoundé II, SOA, Cameroon
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Law – University of Yaoundé II, SOA, Cameroon

    BAR MEMBERSHIP
  • Barreau du Cameroun (Cameroon Bar Association) – Advocate-in-Training, Admitted, 2026

    CERTIFICATIONS

  • Certificate in NDC Strategy & Finance – Frankfurt School of Management :
  • Certificate in ESG Reporting – The ESG Institute
  • Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) Fundamentals — World Bank Group
  • Global Energy and Climate Policy — SOAS University of London (via Coursera)
  • Renewable Energy Projects — University of Colorado, Boulder (via Coursera)
  • Project Management Professional (PMP) — Project Management Institute (PMI)
  • Managing Environmental and Social Performance — World Bank Group (eLearning)
  • Climate Change: From Learning to Action — UN CC: Learn / One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership
  • Diploma in International Arbitration — Africa Arbitration Academy
  • Certificate in Finance for Non-Financial Managers — University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business

    PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • Project Management Institute (PMI) — PMP certified
    Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN)
    Young Group of International Arbitrators (YGIA) — LCIA

Let's work together

Advising on a transaction, market entry, or climate finance opportunity in West or Central Africa? Start with a conversation.

carlmbeng@gmail.com · contact@carlmbeng.com