Connect with us

Business

Sabi Bolsters Advisory Group with Four New Members

Published

on

Sabi Bolsters

The advisory group has been established to inform the strategy and implementation of Sabi’s vision as the company continues its growth trajectory

LAGOS, Nigeria, June 15, 2022/APO Group/ — 

Sabi (Sabi.am), Africa’s leading provider of commerce infrastructure for the distribution of goods and services, is pleased to announce the appointment of four new advisory group members whose experience and networks will support Sabi in its mission to resource and grow SMEs in the informal sector.

The advisory group has been established to inform the strategy and implementation of Sabi’s vision as the company continues its growth trajectory. The group consists of Vidit Aatrey, Founder & CEO of Meesho, Ian Black, Managing Director of Shopify, Sapna Goyal, Corporate Development Director of Udaan, and Bame Pule, Founder of Africa Lighthouse Capital.

Our goal has always been to build and establish a robust team of experts – from our leadership team right down to our agent network – that lives and breathes our core values

Vidit Aatrey, one of the leading Indian entrepreneurs of his generation, is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Meesho. Vidit, an alumnus of IIT-Delhi embarked on the journey of creating Meesho back in 2015, together with his college batchmate and friend Sanjeev Barnwal, with an aim to build an ecommerce start-up for small businesses at a time when everyone told them that ecommerce is saturated. Seven years later, they have today built India’s largest social commerce platform at Meesho. Meesho has already empowered 2 million+ entrepreneurs, mostly women, and is on its way to create more. Through its platform, it enables entrepreneurs to start an online-business with zero investment and provides them with the resources, tools, logistics and payment capabilities to run their business. Prior to Meesho, Vidit worked with ITC and Inmobi.

Ian Black is the Managing Director of Shopify Canada. Prior to that, he was the Director of Retail at Shopify. In that role, Ian managed the business and go-to-market strategy for Shopify Retail in Toronto, by overseeing sales, solutions, partnerships, and operations, working alongside marketing and R&D leadership. Prior to joining Shopify, Ian was head of UberEATS’ American and Canadian divisions. He was also a management consultant with Bain & Company in Toronto and New York where he advised companies and private equity funds on strategy and growth.

Sapna Goyal is the Corporate Development Director (strategic investments, partnerships, and M&A) at Udaan, a leading B2B e-commerce platform in India. For over ten years, she has investing experience in early and growth-stage internet start-ups in India. Prior to Udaan, Sapna worked with Goldman Sachs Investment Partners VC & Growth Equity Fund and was responsible for investments in the Indian internet space. She also has investing experience in Indian Public Markets as part of a hedge fund at Goldman Sachs. She is passionate about the power of digital transformation on the Indian economy and how it is a great leveller. She is an active angel investor.

Bame Pule is the founder of Africa Lighthouse Capital, an independent private equity firm founded in 2012 to invest in and nurture businesses into African champions. The firm has a particular focus on helping investee companies adopt global best practices regardless of sector, attain benchmarks equivalent to those of global peers, and expand into multiple key African markets. Prior to founding Africa Lighthouse Capital, Mr. Pule worked at Actis Capital, ShoreView Capital, Goldman Sachs & Credit Suisse in New York and Salomon Brothers/Citigroup in Los Angeles.

Commenting on the appointments, Anu Adasolum, Co-Founder & CEO of Sabi: said “Our goal has always been to build and establish a robust team of experts – from our leadership team right down to our agent network – that lives and breathes our core values and mission to transform the B2B commerce industry in Africa. We’re extremely pleased to announce that the four members are talented and strategic business leaders whose broad experience will further strengthen our commitment to enable financial inclusion within the B2B community in Africa’s growing informal economy, while providing world class solutions for our merchants. I look forward to working closely with the team to drive forward the next phase of growth.” 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Sabi.

Business

Ministers among hundreds of energy-sector leaders to attend AOW event

Published

on

Sinclair

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

AOW: Investing in African Energy (https://AOWEnergy.com) – Africa’s leading oil, gas and energy event – has confirmed attendance for more than 80 ministers and senior officials, representing African governments, energy departments and regulators at next month’s event.

These influential stakeholders will be among the more than 1 600 senior delegates and industry leaders who will be attending the event to develop policy, share discoveries, secure investment, and shape Africa’s energy future.

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors.”

Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention

Among the officials and government ministers attending will be energy leaders from South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Eswatini, Uganda, CAR, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Gabon, Malawi, Morocco, Zanzibar, Liberia, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone.

In addition, the event will feature high-level delegations from numerous national oil companies, as well as multilateral bodies including the African Union, (AU), African Energy Commission (AFREC), African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

AOW will see these energy leaders networking with C-suite executives and decision-makers from more than 760 top energy companies at daily networking events, to discuss insights, forge new relationships, and negotiate major energy deals.

“We are so excited to see the calibre of delegates at this year’s AOW event,” says Chief Executive Officer of Sankofa Events, Paul Sinclair. “Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention. The high-powered attendance proves AOW is a key platform to enable this intervention.”

Key themes to be discussed at this year’s AOW will be sustainable upstream development; expanding gas value chains; renewables and new energies; adoption of best-in-class technologies; and access to finance.

AOW: Investing in African Energy will culminate in a special anniversary party at Groot Constantia Vineyard to celebrate 30 years of the AOW event.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of AOW: Investing in African Energy.

Continue Reading

Business

Afreximbank approves US$20.8 million for Starlink Global’s cashew factory project in Lagos

Published

on

PAPSS

The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs

CAIRO, Egypt, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has approved a US$20.8 million financing facility for Nigeria-based Starlink Global & Ideal Limited to enable the company construct and operate a 30,000-metric tonne per annum cashew processing factory in Lagos.

We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria

According to the facility agreement signed in on July 22, 2024, Afreximbank will provide the funds in two tranches with the first tranche of US$7.48M going toward capital expenditure for the construction of the factory and the second, totalling US$13.25M to be deployed as working capital for the operations of the factory.

The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs once the factory becomes operational. It is also expected to support about 40 small and medium-sized enterprises.

Commenting on the transaction, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra Africa Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank, said that by supporting Starlink Global to establish a modern processing facility, Afreximbank is making it possible for Africa to add value to its agro-commodities, thereby facilitating exports and subsequent inflow of much-needed foreign exchange into the continent.

“We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria. It will contribute to value creation and to the development of the local community while also improving the lots of smallholder farmers and small business suppliers that will work with Starlink across the value chain,” Mrs. Awani added.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

Continue Reading

Business

Sonangol to Lead Decarbonized Oil & Gas (O&G) Development, Says Angolan National Oil Company (NOC) Head

Published

on

Sonangol

Participating in an on-stage interview at Angola Oil & Gas 2024, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins emphasized that oil and gas remains a core focus for the national oil company

LUANDA, Angola, October 3, 2024/APO Group/ — 

Angola’s national oil company Sonangol reiterated its commitment to driving sustainable hydrocarbon development during the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference this week. Speaking during an “In-Conversation with” session, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins stated that the company will not abandon oil and gas, but rather advance decarbonized oil and gas development.

We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas

By investing in upstream oil and gas production while prioritizing low-carbon projects, Sonangol aims to boost national crude output, while diversifying and decarbonizing the industry. The NOC is focusing efforts on non-associated gas development, as well as alternative energy sources such as solar.

“We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas. Gas produced from Angola LNG will be used for the production of fertilizer and we are evaluating the utilization of gas in the south of the country, linking gas with steel industries. We also have a blue carbon project, linked to the reduction of carbon through the plantation of mangroves. We have one area in Luanda and have identified four additional areas for this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Sonangol has undergone transformation in recent years: following the creation of the National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG) in 2019, Sonangol transferred its role as national concessionaire and regulator. This transformation has aimed to make Sonangol more competitive and strengthen its capacity as an upstream operator. Concurrently, the government is partially privatizing the NOC, with privatization set to be complete in 2026. This process will enhance financial capacity, allowing Sonangol to drive new upstream projects forward.

“The transformation of Sonangol started several years ago, when we passed the regulatory, concessionaire role to the ANPG. At the time, we transferred almost 600 employees to the ANPG. After that, Sonangol underwent a restructuring program where we created five core business units from 36 different entities – starting with exploration and production. We want to go public, but we want to do it properly. So, we are currently going through all the processes to do this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

Continue Reading

Trending