About African Energy

The founding editor of African Energy, which he set up in 1998 under the banner of the Financial Times’ former FT Energy subsidiary, Jon is author of several books and academic papers on North African history, politics and security, as well as on various aspects of finance and business – notably on issues associated with national energy industries and approaches towards debt.

A fluent French speaker, Jon carried out doctoral research on Algeria’s Mozabite community at University of London’s School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), which included fieldwork in Algeria. He has a Masters degree in African Government & Politics from the London School of Economics and read politics at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

Specialist interests include:

The Maghreb: Jon has a long-standing interest in the failure of – and potentials for – regional economic and political integration in the Maghreb region, and how to unleash the potentials of the southern Mediterranean’s big populations and natural resources to build a more stable, prosperous future for the majority.

Algeria: From the development of the nationalist movement to contemporary shifts in ideology and factional balance, Algeria has been at the centre of Jon’s work and life. Interests include Mozabite political sociology, Houari Boumedienne and Algerian football

Morocco: The experience of close friends at the business daily L’Economiste excited Jon’s deep interest in this most complex polity, and exciting business environment.

Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo: How the business elites work in these difficult governance environments, and how national wealth can be put to better use for the majority.

A specialist in North Africa and Iraqi Kurdistan, John produces regular analyses, detailed monitoring reports and briefings for CbI's private clients.



He reads, writes and speaks standard Arabic and is also fluent in Bulgarian. His travel memoir of five years spent in Bulgaria entitled The Good Balkans was published by Wild Man Books in 2009.

Previous projects David has led include power sector supply and demand analyses and forecasting of several West and Southern African countries, the compiling of political and economic country profiles, an in-depth IPP market entry report focusing on industry reform and the impact of potential changes in the extractive industries, and a detailed security threat assessment report for Nigeria.

He is also one of African Energy's regional specialists and a well-regarded research analyst in his own right, authoring numerous articles focusing on Nigerian politics, energy policy and developments, and finance.

A frequent traveller to Africa where he carries out on-the-ground investigative research, David plays a key role in developing the company’s consultancy services as well as managing and expanding its network of contacts throughout Africa.

He read politics at the University of East Anglia and has a Masters in International Relations from the University of Sussex where his research focused on UK-US relations.

Dan has worked with African Energy's consultancy team. Notable projects include the baseline, first and second ‘Monitoring progress in the Africa-EU Energy Partnership’ reports and a planning, advisory and supervisory role in the preparation of the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa's 2012 annual report, Infrastructure Financing Trends in Africa.

Dan graduated with a BSc in economics and physics from the University of Durham in 2010 and with a MA in international relations in the Middle East from the same institution in 2011. Between 2013 and 2015 he undertook a Master Recherche in economics at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne.