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Benedict Peters and Aiteo Group: Defining an African Energy Champion

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6 months ago

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African Energy Chamber

As an entrepreneur turned industry leader, Benedict Peters has built Aiteo into Africa’s largest indigenous energy company – expanding from Nigerian oil production to continental gas ventures and downstream infrastructure

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, February 4, 2026/APO Group/ –Benedict Peters is one of the most influential figures in Africa’s oil and gas sector. As Founder and CEO of the Aiteo Group, he has transformed a homegrown petroleum trading company into one of the continent’s largest indigenous energy firms, navigating complex markets, strategic acquisitions and an expanding portfolio that now stretches beyond Nigeria.

 

A Vision Beyond Trading

 

Peters began his career in Nigeria’s energy sector with Ocean and Oil Services (now Oando) and MRS Oil & Gas, rising to Managing Director. These early roles provided him with hands-on experience across petroleum supply chains and operational management, laying the groundwork for his entrepreneurial leap. In 1999, he founded Sigmund Communecci, initially focused on petroleum products supply and trading. Over the next decade, the company grew into one of Nigeria’s largest operators of tank farms and storage infrastructure, with more than 250 million liters of capacity.

 

In 2008, Sigmund Communecci was rebranded as Aiteo Group, signaling a shift toward a fully integrated energy company with upstream ambitions.  Under Peters’ leadership, Aiteo now operates across the energy value chain – from production and transportation to distribution and power generation. Its most prominent asset is the NNPC-Aiteo Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29, which includes 11 oil and gas fields in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, including the historic Oloibiri field. After acquiring OML 29 and the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) from Shell in 2015, Aiteo increased production from around 25,000 barrels per day (bpd) to roughly 90,000 bpd within a year, despite challenges from infrastructure damage and oil theft.

 

From Petroleum Marketing to Core Production

 

Aiteo’s marketing operations remain a cornerstone of the business. The company distributes gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene and LPG through an extensive network of service stations and independent partners. This segment ensures steady revenue and maintains the company’s presence across Nigeria.

 

The company’s ambitions soon expanded beyond trading. The acquisition of OML 29 and the NCTL gave Aiteo control over significant upstream assets, forming the backbone of its production operations. Over subsequent years, production increased steadily, contributing nearly 100,000 bpd to Nigeria’s total crude output, or roughly five percent of national production.

 

Nembe Crude: A New Grade on the Global Stage

 

Under Peters’ guidance, Aiteo introduced Nembe crude, a low-sulfur, high-API gravity grade developed with the NNPC. Launched in 2023–2024, Nembe crude has been exported to refiners in Europe, marking the first time a crude grade developed and marketed primarily by Nigerian entities entered the global market.

 

The introduction of Nembe crude highlights Aiteo’s strategic focus: optimizing production assets for both domestic use and export, and demonstrating the commercial viability of indigenous Nigerian energy companies on the global stage.

Benedict Peters is all in on African energy development and prosperity for Africans

 

Operational Resilience in the Niger Delta

 

Operating in the Niger Delta presents significant challenges. Aiteo has faced infrastructure disruptions, oil theft and security-related production losses. In mid-2024, production resumed at the Nembe field following a major leak, reflecting the company’s focus on operational continuity, safety and infrastructure maintenance. These episodes underline the complexity of upstream operations in Nigeria and Aiteo’s approach to mitigating risk through infrastructure upgrades, security protocols and contingency planning.

 

Expanding Across Africa

 

While Nigeria remains central to Aiteo’s operations, Peters has pursued a pan-African strategy. The company acquired a stake in the Mazenga gas block in Mozambique, one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest onshore gas reserves, estimated at 19 trillion cubic feet. Geological surveys and field evaluations are underway, reflecting a measured approach to developing new regional energy assets.

 

In July 2025, Aiteo signed a deal with the Government of Mozambique and state-owned Petromoc to develop a large-scale refinery capable of processing 240,000 bpd. The project aims to reduce Mozambique’s reliance on imported refined products and support regional energy distribution, representing a strategic expansion into downstream infrastructure.

 

Gas and Power Initiatives

 

Complementing its upstream and midstream operations, Aiteo is investing in gas processing and power generation. Through Aiteo Power, the company is developing gas-fed power plants in resource-rich regions of Nigeria, aiming to increase electricity supply for industrial and residential use. These initiatives reflect a broader strategy to diversify energy assets and support local economic development.

 

Recognition and Continental Ambitions

 

Peters’ leadership has earned international recognition, including being named Africa’s Oil and Gas Leader of the Year at the Forbes Best of Africa Gala in 2018, a testament to his role in building indigenous capacity within the energy sector. Under his guidance, Aiteo has followed a deliberate, strategic approach to becoming a fully integrated African energy company, balancing upstream production, downstream distribution, gas development and power generation. Today, the company produces nearly 100,000 barrels per day from its core Nigerian assets, while its Mozambican gas and downstream initiatives reflect its broader continental ambitions. Peters continues to prioritize measured expansion, infrastructure reliability, and long-term sector development, demonstrating that indigenous African enterprise can compete effectively with global majors.

 

“Benedict Peters is all in on African energy development and prosperity for Africans. For him and Aiteo, empowering the continent through sustainable energy development has been a lifelong commitment,” says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber, adding “A true representation of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If,’ Benedict Peters underscores the idea that even in positions of power, he does not lose touch with his common roots. He is a leader who can walk with kings without losing the common touch.”

 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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Cassava Technologies strengthens Africa’s cloud resilience with Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute Metro designation in Johannesburg

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14 hours ago

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July 20, 2026

By

Cassava Technologies

As the first ExpressRoute Metro location in Africa, Johannesburg joins a select group of global technology hubs offering organisations access to a new level of cloud resilience and security

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 20, 2026/APO Group/ –Cassava Technologies (www.CassavaTechnologies.com), a global technology company, through its businesses – Africa Data Centres and Liquid C2, has expanded Africa’s cloud resilience capabilities after Africa Data Centres was designated a Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute Metro peering location in Johannesburg. This marks a significant milestone for Africa’s digital infrastructure and cloud ecosystem, reinforcing Cassava’s role as a key enabler of secure, resilient, and high-performance digital services across the continent.

 

By leveraging its status as the only provider with an on-net presence in both locations, Liquid C2, Cassava’s cloud and cyber security business, will deliver Secure CloudConnect. This fully managed service combines resilient private cloud connectivity with integrated cyber security solutions, providing organisations with a secure path to Microsoft Azure.

“Being designated a Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute Metro peering location is a defining moment for Africa Data Centres as well as for Africa’s digital infrastructure. It reflects growing confidence in the continent’s ability to support the next generation of cloud and AI-driven services while demonstrating the strength of our One Cassava model. By combining the infrastructure capabilities of Africa Data Centres with the cloud and cyber security expertise of Liquid C2, we are providing organisations with the resilient, secure, and trusted digital foundation they need to accelerate innovation and growth,” said Ziaad Suleman, Senior Vice President of Cassava Technologies South Africa and Botswana.

Being designated a Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute Metro peering location is a defining moment for Africa Data Centres as well as for Africa’s digital infrastructure

As the first ExpressRoute Metro location in Africa, Johannesburg joins a select group of global technology hubs offering organisations access to a new level of cloud resilience and security. Africa Data Centres’ JHB1 facility becomes the second peering location within the Johannesburg metro offering a local ExpressRoute Metro capability. ExpressRoute Metro routes a single connection through two peering locations in the same metro, adding built-in redundancy for mission-critical workloads.

This comes as regulators are placing greater emphasis on operational resilience, business continuity, risk management, and data protection.

Liquid C2’s Secure CloudConnect addresses these requirements by helping organisations reduce the risk of disruption, strengthen their security posture, and simplify the management of complex cloud environments, while meeting regulatory and governance expectations. Customers benefit from a single trusted provider while gaining access to infrastructure designed to support business-critical operations.

“South Africa isn’t waiting for the AI era – it’s helping to shape it, and that ambition rests on digital infrastructure the country can trust. With Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute Metro now available in Johannesburg, organisations across South Africa gain a more resilient and secure path to the cloud for their most critical workloads,” said Vukani Mngxati, CEO of Microsoft South Africa. “When businesses can build on trusted, resilient foundations, they can move faster, compete on the global stage, and turn South Africa’s digital ambition into real economic impact. We are proud to work with Cassava Technologies to help make that happen.”

This milestone marks a significant step forward for African enterprise digital transformation. By bridging hyper-scale infrastructure with managed cloud security, Cassava Technologies is actively future-proofing businesses across the continent, ensuring they have the speed, agility, and protection required to compete in the global digital economy.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Cassava Technologies.

 

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Master Power Technologies Unveils R50m State-of-the-Art Customer Experience Centre at New Midrand Premises

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15 hours ago

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July 20, 2026

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Master Power Technologies

This milestone marks a significant step in the company’s continued expansion and commitment to advancing Africa’s data centre infrastructure

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 20, 2026/APO Group/ –Master Power Technologies (MPT) (https://kva.co.za/), a leading pan-African provider of turnkey data centre and critical power solutions, has unveiled its hi-tech Customer Experience Centre, also home to its new regional headquarters in Midrand.

Master Power Technologies Unveils R50m State-of-the-Art Customer Experience Centre at New Midrand Premises

This milestone marks a significant step in the company’s continued expansion and commitment to advancing Africa’s data centre infrastructure.

Founded in 1999 by electrical engineer Menno Parsons, MPT has grown from its origins as a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) provider into a diversified engineering firm that delivers end-to-end solutions for data centres across Africa and the Middle East. Today, MPT designs, manufactures, and assembles a wide range of products under its flagship brands, SURE and AIVA, tailored to withstand Africa’s demanding operational environments.

The new Midrand facility spans 6 000m2 and will serve as MPT’s African headquarters, housing approximately 200 employees. Strategically located between Johannesburg and Pretoria, the site is positioned close to major data centre hubs, ensuring accessibility for clients and partners.

Hands-on environment

At the heart of the launch is the Customer Experience Centre, a R50 million investment designed to showcase MPT’s engineering capabilities and provide a hands-on environment for customers, partners, and trainees. The centre features advanced test facilities, including a 2 MVA UPS test platform and a 400kW cooling systems test centre, which is the most comprehensive of its kind on the continent.

These facilities enable performance testing to European certification standards, offering clients confidence in the reliability and efficiency of MPT’s solutions, with the company having become the first African business to be officially certified as an Endorser of the European Code of Conduct for Energy Efficiency in Data Centres in 2025.

The Experience Centre represents a new chapter for Master Power Technologies

“The Experience Centre represents a new chapter for Master Power Technologies. It’s about creating a space where customers can engage with our technology, see it in action, and understand the depth of our capabilities,” says MD and Founder of MPT Menno Parsons.

“This centre will be the most impressive UPS and cooling training facility in Africa, allowing our clients to touch, feel, and work with real systems in a way that has never been possible before.”

Commitment to local

The Experience Centre also highlights MPT’s commitment to local engineering and manufacturing. MPT assembles and engineers complete modular data centre and energy centre solutions within Africa. This approach reduces logistical risks, supports local industry, and ensures solutions are tailored to regional requirements.

Beyond technical demonstrations, the centre will serve as a hub for training and collaboration, equipping engineers and clients with practical knowledge to optimise data centre performance.

It also integrates MPT’s proprietary Advanced Infrastructure Visual Analytics (AIVA) monitoring platform, which manages and records metrics across more than 200 data centres in Africa, offering advanced analytics and operational insights.

“Our business has always been about more than just selling equipment. We engineer solutions for Africa, by Africa. This Experience Centre is a testament to that philosophy, which strengthens our ability to train, innovate and deliver world-class infrastructure while remaining rooted in local expertise,” says Parsons.

The launch of the Midrand offices and Experience Centre underscores MPT’s role as a trusted partner in Africa’s rapidly growing data centre sector. With demand for resilient, efficient, and scalable infrastructure on the rise, MPT’s investment positions the company to meet the evolving needs of clients across the continent and beyond.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Master Power Technologies.

 

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Embracing an Intelligent Future: UnionPay Showcases AI Innovation at WAIC 2026

Published

15 hours ago

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July 20, 2026

By

WAIC

Release of Phased Achievements of the National Pilot Base for AI Application (Financial Sector) Held Alongside the Conference

SHANGHAI, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 20 July 2026 – On 17 July, the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) officially opened in Shanghai. UnionPay unveiled three proprietary AI technologies developed for the financial sector at the Shanghai exhibition area: financial transaction time-series foundation model, the Agentic Payment Open Protocol (APOP) framework, and a privacy-preserving large language model inference solution. As the AI era unfolds, the showcase highlights UnionPay’s continued commitment to accelerating the adoption of digital and intelligent technologies.

On 18 July, UnionPay hosted the Release of Phased Achievements of the National Pilot Base for AI Application (Financial Sector) at the UnionPay Center alongside WAIC 2026. The event brought together more than 100 representatives from commercial banks, Chinese and international partners, leading technology companies, academia, and research institutions. During the event, UnionPay released its “1+6+N” AI achievements framework, announced a series of industry partnerships, and launched a joint initiative calling for greater collaboration on the development and governance of the financial industry. These achievements demonstrate the progress of the National AI Application Pilot Base in building an open innovation platform that accelerates AI adoption across the industry.

Dong Junfeng, Chairman of China UnionPay and UnionPay International, attended the event and delivered a keynote speech. He noted that AI is rapidly reshaping the financial industry. Since the National AI Application Pilot Base was launched in 2025, it has delivered a number of meaningful outcomes through close collaboration across the industry. Mr. Dong elaborated on the vision for the development of the base from through three dimensions: sharing, collaborative governance, and mutual benefits. First, by pooling computing resources, data and models on a centralized public platform, the base helps address industry challenges such as the high cost of computing resources and data silos. This lowers barriers to AI adoption across the financial sector. Second, the base has strengthened AI security by building robust safeguards for large language models and applying AI to enhance transaction risk management and cybersecurity. Such efforts are made to support a safer and more resilient financial ecosystem. Third, the base is accelerating the AI adoption across real-world use cases. It has incubated a range of commercial AI solutions spanning agentic payments, credit risk management, consumption promotion and merchant digital transformation, turning technological innovation into tangible business value. Looking ahead, the future of AI + Finance holds enormous potential. UnionPay looks forward to working with partners across industries to build an open, shared, and well-governed financial AI ecosystem that supports the development of new productive forces through technological innovation.

A highlight of the event was the official launch of UnionPay’s “1+6+N” AI achievements framework.

The “1” represents a unified portal—the National AI Application Pilot Base. Built on a “One Portal, Six Centers” structure, it integrates six specialized centers covering models, datasets, applications, talent development, supply-demand matching, and financial services. Together, the platform currently hosts 11 models, 14 datasets, 59 demonstration applications, and 61 service offerings, bringing together 145 core resources in total.

The “6” refers to six independent and controllable capabilities, including computing resources scheduling through a trusted intelligent computing sharing platform, high-quality financial datasets, finance-specific foundation models, AI-powered financial security services, financial AI standards, and a pilot testing sandbox that supports model training and evaluation. Together, these six capabilities form the base’s shared technology foundation, providing ecosystem partners with the core technical infrastructure.

The “N” represents a portfolio of benchmark use cases, standardized AI solutions, and demonstration applications built on this technology foundation. These applications span five key areas—intelligent payments, inclusive finance, consumption growth, risk management and compliance, and operational excellence—building a multi-tier product portfolio serving consumers, merchants, local governments and financial institutions. This accelerates the application of AI capabilities across diverse use cases.

Together, the “1+6+N” framework of the base connects computing power, data, models, and use cases and forms an end-to-end value chain. By addressing common industry challenges—including limited computing resources, data silos and the high cost of AI deployment—it delivers standardized and widely accessible AI capabilities, providing the financial industry with reusable, highly secure and one-stop AI solutions for intelligent transformation. This also reflects UnionPay’s commitment not only to driving its own business growth, but also to enabling the industry through foundational capabilities and reinforcing financial infrastructure for the AI era.

These achievements have already been made available to industry partners and are beginning to create value. For banks, acquirers and other financial institutions, UnionPay’s shared infrastructure enables rapid access to mature financial AI capabilities without the need to build systems from scratch, significantly reducing both technical barriers and implementation costs. For merchants, UnionPay offers AI-powered marketing, digital analytics and intelligent risk management tools to support smarter operations, improve customer engagement and enhance operational efficiency, enabling even small and medium-sized businesses to benefit from AI innovation. For technology companies and other ecosystem partners, the base enables partners to rapidly adapt AI products for financial applications and complete compliance validation, accelerating the commercialization of technological innovations.

The event also featured six rounds of partnership signing ceremonies, covering areas including AI-themed card, cross-border agentic payment ecosystem development, AI-powered operational empowerment for merchants, joint commercialization of pilot base innovations, and broader ecosystem collaboration across the financial industry chain.

Following the signing ceremonies, UnionPay released the Initiative on the Collaborative Development and Governance of AI Applications in Financial Services, with representatives from participating organizations joining the stage to witness its launch. Building on the “1+6+N” framework, the initiative calls on industry stakeholders to collaborate in four areas: First, advancing trusted AI systems that serve the real economy by establishing governance mechanisms for traceable and explainable algorithms while safeguarding data privacy and security; Second, strengthening collaboration among industry, academia, research institutions and users, leveraging the base to jointly advance core technologies and develop independent and secure financial AI infrastructure; Third, promoting openness and inclusiveness by sharing mature AI models, testing services and implementation solutions to reduce the cost of intelligent transformation, particularly for SMEs; Fourth, improving lifecycle governance through tiered risk management, enhanced compliance standards and coordinated risk prevention. The initiative calls on all industry stakeholders to work together by jointly strengthening the foundation, unlocking greater value through shared capabilities, and reinforcing collaborative governance, with the goal of advancing the sound development of AI in the financial sector and driving digital finance through technological innovation.

 

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