Africa’s local content policies are intended to build domestic capability, but overly narrow definitions of “local” may be discouraging the very investment and expertise African energy markets need, according to Samuel Diminas, Group CEO of Westpaq Group.
Diminas told Africa Digest News Editor-in-Chief Perpetual Kendi that local content should be treated as an economic-development tool rather than a compliance exercise. In many African markets, companies still need to import specialists from countries such as Russia, Norway or the United States because the required skills or the infrastructure to support them—do not yet exist locally.
“That can be expensive,” he said, arguing that governments and regulators should focus on practical pathways for developing local capacity rather than simply imposing ownership or nationality requirements.
A central concern is that local content rules often equate local participation with indigenous ownership. Diminas argued that this definition is too restrictive for economies seeking to attract international capital and technology.
He suggested that an American professional or company operating from Lagos should be recognised as part of the local business ecosystem. In his view, local presence, employment, training and long-term investment should count towards local content, not only shareholding structures.
He pointed to Houston as an example of a jurisdiction that uses incentives to encourage companies to establish operations locally, rather than relying solely on mandates.
Diminas said African energy markets need international companies to feel that they belong and have a genuine stake in the economy. Rules that make foreign investors feel excluded could undermine technology transfer, job creation and the growth of local supply chains.
“Africa will not grow through isolationism,” he argued. “It needs to attract people who can work with those already on the ground.”
He also noted that globally connected companies operating in Africa can still be African in leadership and identity. A company may employ American or British experts while being led by African founders, CEOs and senior managers.
Westpaq’s approach, according to Diminas, is to combine international expertise with local teams and progressively increase the scope of work that local communities can execute. He cited a gas-monetisation project in Equatorial Guinea as an example of how large projects can create employment and practical experience.
He stressed that qualifications alone do not keep skills current. Workers develop capability by repeatedly doing the work and adapting to evolving technology.
The conversation suggests a growing tension in African energy policy: governments want local value creation, while investors want predictable, commercially workable rules. Diminas’s argument is that the two goals are compatible—but only if local content frameworks reward investment, skills development and local presence, rather than penalising companies for importing expertise that Africa does not yet have.
If local content rules become too rigid, he warned, they could slow project execution, raise costs and make Africa less competitive at precisely the moment it needs more energy investment.
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