LondonWest Africa
AeT4 is a London-based consultancy advising investors, corporates and public institutions on African law, mining, finance, legislation, property and global regulatory compliance.
16
West African jurisdictions in our coverage
6
Integrated practice areas under one team
20+
Years of combined advisory experience
EN · FR
Advice in English and French for anglophone and francophone markets
01Who we advise
We work with clients who need to move with confidence in markets where law, regulation and day-to-day practice don’t always align, and where the cost of getting it wrong is high.
Private equity, infrastructure and sovereign investors assessing and executing transactions.
Explorers, producers and contractors across the natural resources value chain.
DFIs and multilateral lenders structuring, financing and monitoring projects.
Businesses entering, expanding or restructuring their operations in the region.
Ministries, regulators and agencies modernising legislation and policy.
Lenders, payment providers and fintechs navigating licensing and compliance.
02Expertise
Most matters in West Africa cut across law, finance and regulation. We bring the relevant disciplines together from the outset, so your advice is joined up and your risks are seen in full.
Practical guidance on the legal systems of sub-Saharan West Africa: common law, civil law under the OHADA framework, and customary law.
Support across the resources lifecycle, from licence acquisition to operation, grounded in each country’s mining code, fiscal regime and community obligations.
Structuring and protecting capital invested in the region, whether it comes from private investors, commercial banks or development finance institutions.
Helping governments and regulators design workable laws, and helping businesses understand and respond to them.
Clear advice on land tenure, title and development in markets where registration systems and customary rights vary widely.
Compliance programmes that satisfy UK, US, EU and local regulators at the same time, designed for the realities of operating in West Africa.
03Our approach
We pair a detailed understanding of West African legal and commercial practice with the rigour expected by UK and international boards, lenders and regulators.
Advice grounded in how laws are applied in practice, not only in how they read on paper.
At home across common-law, civil-law and customary systems, and across anglophone and francophone markets.
Advice tied to your transaction, timetable and risk appetite, with clear recommendations rather than open-ended memos.
Every engagement is built to stand up to scrutiny from regulators, auditors, lenders and investors.
We define the question, the jurisdictions involved and what a good outcome looks like for you.
We review the legal, regulatory and commercial position and identify the risks that matter.
We set out clear options and recommendations, with the trade-offs made explicit.
We support execution through negotiations, filings, approvals and ongoing compliance.
04Coverage
Our focus is sub-Saharan West Africa, together with the regional and international frameworks that shape cross-border business there.
Anglophone systems rooted in the common-law tradition.
Civil-law systems under the OHADA Uniform Acts.
Civil-law systems outside OHADA.
Laws that follow your business into the region.
05Insights
Short, practical notes on the developments that matter to business in the region, available to clients and on request.
Global Compliance
In force since 1 September 2025, the offence applies to large organisations and can capture fraud by employees, agents and subsidiaries, including overseas where there is a UK nexus. We outline the “reasonable procedures” defence and what it means for West African operations.
Request this briefingMining
Local content obligations increasingly shape project economics. We compare how requirements are framed across key mining jurisdictions and what investors should build into their plans from the start.
Request this briefingAfrican Law
How the Uniform Act governs company formation, governance and shareholder rights across OHADA member states, and where national rules still apply.
Request this briefingSpeak to a senior adviser in confidence. We’ll tell you plainly what’s involved and how we can help.