Category: News

Across Africa, a silent statistic tells a story of both immense potential and systemic challenge: while SMEs are responsible for over 80% of the continent’s jobs, the majority struggle to survive their first three years. The African Development Bank highlights a critical shortage of capital, skills, and market access as the primary barriers. This gap represents more than a business failure rate; it signifies a recurring interruption in community problem-solving and economic resilience.

The Sahara Group Foundation’s EXTRApreneur drive is engineered to bridge this gap, not by importing models, but by architecting a holistic ecosystem. It recognizes that capital alone is not a cure. The World Bank estimates the credit gap for formal African SMEs at approximately $331 billion. The EXTRApreneur framework addresses this head-on by integrating the Sahara Impact Fund and MADAA programme into a streamlined pipeline that provides governance, commercial modelling, and strategic communications alongside funding.

“African entrepreneurs are not short on ingenuity,” noted Ade Odunsi, Executive Director, Sahara Group. “What they need is structure, clarity, and the right kind of strategic push. That is what EXTRApreneurship provides.”

Innovative Local Ideas, Continental Impact

The selection process reveals the depth of this community-driven innovation. From a pool of over 2,000 applicants across 15 countries, ideas emerge that are hyper-local in their design yet universal in their relevance. These ventures tackle Africa’s dual burden of challenges and opportunities: managing the 250 million tons of waste generated annually in Sub-Saharan Africa, creating health-tech for regions with severe doctor shortages, and providing solutions for communities where need is the mother of invention.

“We come from communities that expect solutions, not excuses,” said Tracey Shiundu, an awardee from Kenya. “This support gives us the chance to meet those expectations.”

Beyond Revenue to Relevance

The program’s impact is measured in layered metrics that go beyond balance sheets. The critical indicators are human and environmental: households gaining clean energy, reductions in disease incidence, jobs created within communities, and dignity restored.

“Across Africa, entrepreneurship is increasingly a lifeline for communities,” said Bethel Obioma, Head of Corporate Communications, Sahara Group. “What we see in the EXTRApreneur ecosystem is proof that when young people are given structure, guidance, and the right kind of support, they build solutions that uplift more than themselves.”

Consider the tangible outcomes: ventures fighting indoor air pollution that affects millions, organic repellents in malaria-prone regions where the disease claims hundreds of thousands of lives annually, and social enterprises re-engineering mobility.

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The Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Group (SPG), Kola Adesina, has expressed strong confidence in the federal government’s long-term infrastructure and economic reform agenda, saying recent policy actions under President Bola Tinubu have created a more predictable and investor-friendly environment for Nigeria’s power sector.

Sahara Power is Nigeria’s foremost power company, responsible for about 19 per cent of total power generated in the nation. Its subsidiaries include Egbin Power Plc, the largest thermal power plant in sub Saharan Africa, First Independent Power Limited, a leading generating company in the Niger Delta, and Ikeja Electric, the largest privately run distribution company in sub-Saharan Africa.

Speaking during an interview, Adesina disclosed that Sahara Power had undertaken extensive scenario planning and aligned its strategic objectives with what he described as the president’s bold, clear-sighted and long-term oriented infrastructure plan. According to him, the administration has shown uncommon resolve in tackling structural bottlenecks that have historically constrained investment, particularly in the energy value chain.

He noted that decisive reforms and policy clarity have significantly improved investor confidence, opening the door to sustained growth in the power sector and broader economic development. Adesina said the removal of long-standing impediments has helped reposition Nigeria as a more credible destination for long-term capital.

The Sahara Power chief further pointed to macroeconomic improvements as a key factor reshaping business expectations, citing clearer policy reforms in the power sector, increased stability in the foreign exchange market, a marked slowdown in inflation, and the knock-on effect of more moderate interest rates as developments that now allow investors to plan with greater certainty.

“We have done a series of scenario planning and will anchor our strategic objective on the bold, clear-sighted, long-term oriented infrastructure plan of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Mr President has demonstrated courage in confronting age-long bottlenecks, clearing the way for investor confidence thereby engendering significant growth and development of the power sector and Nigeria’s economy in general.

“With clear positive policy reforms in the sector, stability in the exchange rate, significant reduction in inflation rate and the associated moderated interest rate, we as well as other investors in the sector can now easily plan with a higher sense of predictability and conviction,” he stated.

Adesina’s remarks came amid renewed efforts by the federal government to attract private capital into Nigeria’s electricity sector, seen as critical to unlocking industrial productivity, job creation, and long-term economic competitiveness.

Providing updates on the “State of the Power sector and Opportunities Ahead”, Adesina emphasised that from a legacy debt resolution to tech-driven expansion, Nigeria would ultimately overcome its challenges to become the transformational power hub in Africa. “We are witnessing unprecedented collaboration involving the federal government, power ministry, regulatory agencies, power entities, CBN, banks and multilateral financial and development agencies, and other stakeholders in the power sector. We believe that this trend will continue in 2026 and this will spur sector-wide growth that will translate to greater efficiency, sustainability and more power for Nigerians,” he said.

While commending the federal government for addressing the liquidity challenges in the sector through the settlement of legacy debts, Adesina said this would undoubtedly drive new investments and stabilise the sector for unhindered growth.

Adesina said ‘decent progress’ had been recorded in the aspect of metering and service delivery, adding that emerging cooperation between the regulators and operators will further propel “value chain optimisation with a positive impact on end-users, directly translating to more supply reliability.”

He said the sector would witness several distribution network reforms to drive massive infrastructure rehabilitation projects, the deployment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), and the implementation of robust Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to enhance service delivery and reduce Aggregate Technical, Commercial, and Collection (ATC&C) losses, and development of model business units showcasing possibilities.

Adesina said that SPG remained committed to working assiduously with all stakeholders to ensure Nigeria attains the much sought-after future where reliable electricity becomes the bedrock of national development.

Besides, he stated that Sahara Power is on course with plans aimed at increasing dispatched generation capacity to between 6,500MW and 7,000MW and is pioneering the launch of a data centre to foster expansion and innovative operations.

He noted that the Group will invest heavily in both gas and renewable sources to achieve additional generation capacity within the next three to five years, with the goal being “sustainable, affordable, and reliable power for households and industries.”

Adesina noted that the data centre will leverage real-time data analytics, predictive maintenance, and cybersecurity, working alongside the federal government and system operators to enhance overall sector efficiency and transparency.

“At Sahara, our dedication to the power sector is unwavering as clearly demonstrated by our ambitious investments and sector leadership over the years. We will pursue strategic investments, continuing expansion and tech-led operations to ensure we serve our customers with precision, transparency and excellence,” he pointed out. On the state of power loans, Adesina said promising conversations with the consortium of banks involved in the process are ongoing with a positive end in sight.

According to him, the loans which are contractually due for full payment in 2034, are being serviced diligently in keeping with all agreed terms, as the disciplined implementation plan allows the Group to attract further investment and execute its expansion plans.

He said: “Our successes at Sahara are built on a foundation of financial integrity. From inception to date, we have paid the naira equivalent of $438 million (total debt serviced) which is 73 per cent of the original loan of $600 million. “This was achieved despite huge liquidity issues in the sector, especially the debts owed to Sahara and our gas suppliers which as of March 31st, 2025 was reconciled to stand at N1.514 trillion.

“We are grateful for the government’s intervention through the ongoing legacy debt payments which will facilitate full settlement of all outstanding loans to the banks, our obligations to our gas suppliers, technical service providers (operations and maintenance services) etc. We are confident that the loans will be sorted out completely as we are eager to accelerate our growth plans,” he added.

It is believed that the government’s legacy debt resolution plan targeted at Generation Companies (Gencos) and gas suppliers will serve as a major catalyst for stabilising the value chain and restoring investor confidence.

In the same vein, figures from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), shows that over 2.3 million new meters have been deployed under the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) phases since 2020, a development that has significantly reduced the national metering gap and is expected to improve revenue assurance for operators.

Sahara Group has introduced the Sahara Graduate Business Analyst (GBA) Program to equip emerging talent with analytical, data-driven, and problem-solving skills necessary to enhance business performance and foster innovation in Africa’s energy sector.

Bethel Obioma, Head, Corporate Communications at Sahara Group, said the new initiative highlights the company’s increased emphasis on insights, analytics, and decision intelligence for a sustainable energy future.

“The Graduate Business Analyst Program gives young professionals the opportunity to decode data, drive change, and make a difference through insight-led impact. It is an investment in the future of business intelligence, equipping tomorrow’s leaders with the tools to strengthen Africa’s competitiveness in the evolving global energy landscape,” Obioma said.

Emilomo Arorote, Group Head, Human Resources, Sahara Group, described the program as an evolution of Sahara’s legacy graduate initiatives, the Graduate Management Trainee (GMT) and Graduate Engineer Program (GEP), both renowned for producing high-performing professionals who now lead across Sahara’s operations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

“As we approach Sahara Group’s 30th anniversary in 2026, we continue to reinforce our culture of excellence through sustainable talent pipeline and development. The GBA program focuses on building analytical thinkers who can turn complex data into actionable insights for reliable strategy development and execution across the business.”

The Graduate Business Analyst Program offers participants an immersive experience across four key workstreams: Market and Industry Research, Data Collection and Analysis, Performance Monitoring and Reporting, and Stakeholder Management. Participants will gain hands-on exposure to financial modeling, strategy development, and operational performance across Sahara Group’s diverse operations across the Upstream, Downstream, Midstream, Power, Data and Technology, and Infrastructure sectors.

Applications for the 2025 Sahara GBA Program are open from October 20 to November 1, 2025. Interested candidates with a passion for analytics, finance, business, and strategy can apply at www.saharagba.com or visit Sahara Group’s social media channels for more details.

As Sahara Group continues to champion Africa’s energy transformation, the launch of the GBA program further reinforces the company’s commitment to building a sustainable talent pipeline. Through initiatives such as the GMT (Graduate Management Trainee), GEP (Graduate Engineer Program), and now GBA (Graduate Business Analyst) programs, Sahara is shaping a future where insight, innovation, and impact drive Africa’s energy progress.