Structuring bankable projects across Southern Africa

Founder & CEO

Denise is a seasoned Mozambican business development executive who has worked extensively in the markets of Lusophone Africa and West Africa over the past 20 years. With professional experience spanning South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Mozambique, and missions to Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates, she possesses a deep understanding of diverse business landscapes. While her focus remains primarily on African business, Denise has also engaged with business networks in Europe, China, and the United Arab Emirates. Her expertise includes public relations, business development, and forging strategic alliances for international clients, ranging from cultural sensitivity analyses to representing them in high-level meetings with government authorities. Leveraging her extensive network, she guides clients in leadership development, strategic networking, local advisory services, and securing financial closure for specific projects. Denise is an Associate Member and Secretary for the 2023-24 term of the first English-speaking Rotary club in Mozambique – the Rotary Club of Maputo Metro.

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Chief Business Development

Rainor Robinson is a Consulting Partner at Manokore Attorneys, DLA Piper Africa and head of the Infrastructure and Power Team. He has over 25 years experience with commercial transactions, covering Infrastructure Projects, Mining, Energy Generation & Transmission and Oil & Gas. He specializes in business strategy, planning & structuring, joint developments, PPPs, mining, power and infrastructure. Rainor Robinson is an IFLR ranked lawyer within the Energy & Infrastructure Sector and is a member ofInternational Association of Petroleum Negotiator. He also holds directorships in companies engaged in Mining, Infrastructure and Energy.

Notably, Rainor has provided crucial legal advisory whereby a gas exploration project had been initiated by a local entity. A foreign investor, who is now a dominant player in the Zimbabwean oil and gas sector, acquired a majority stake in the project, assuming full financial responsibility. As the oil and gas sector in the region is undeveloped, without specific laws regulating local extraction, the regulatory and fiscal frameworks had to be custom-built. This was achieved through the creation of an Exploration & Development Agreement and a Production Sharing Agreement with the government. Key contributions included:

• Acquiring an equity stake and conducting due diligence on the gas block.
• Managing the registration of foreign shareholding.
• Negotiating the extension of the concession with government authorities.
• Engaging with investors and stakeholders through presentations.
• Drafting and negotiating key agreements with government, including the expansion of the concession area and the Production Sharing Agreement.
• Advising on legal frameworks related to pipelines, including cross-border connection agreements.
• Providing guidance on establishing Special Economic Zones and Free Trade Industrial Parks. 

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Legal Partner

Taciana Peão Lopes is a highly accomplished Mozambican lawyer with 17 years of experience, specializing in advising public and private entities on Mozambican law, investment, and the energy and natural resources sectors. She holds a Master’s in Energy Law from the prestigious North Sea Energy Law Program, which is affiliated with universities in Oslo, Aberdeen, Groningen, and Copenhagen. Since 2015, Taciana has been the founding and managing partner of TPLA (Taciana Peão Lopes & Advogados Associados).

Throughout her career, Taciana has played a pivotal role in Mozambique’s first LNG export project, working closely with Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) and Anadarko Petroleum to negotiate and draft key legal frameworks for LNG implementation and financing. Additionally, she has guided major power projects like the Temane (700 MW) and Ressano Garcia (300 MW) gas plants through complex regulatory environments, working alongside industry giant SASOL.

Taciana’s expertise also extends to renewable energy, where she advised Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) on the Mocuba Solar Power Project, the country’s first photovoltaic (PV) plant. She has worked with key oil and gas stakeholders, such as Wentworth Resources and Delonex, on upstream activities and tender submissions during Mozambique’s 5th Licensing Round.

In addition to her legal work, Taciana is a co-founder of Mozambique Women of Energy (MWE), an initiative aimed at empowering women in the energy sector and advancing equal access to energy, aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 5 and 7. MWE focuses on providing affordable, reliable, and modern energy services to both rural and urban communities.

Her contributions to the field have earned her the Client Choice Awards for Energy & Natural Resources in 2017 and 2018. She has also authored numerous publications on energy law, contributing to platforms such as USAID/SPEED, IFLR, and the North Sea Energy Law Program.

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