Category: English

Source: APO

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Chinese industrial manufacturer Neway Valve has joined the upcoming MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2025 conference and exhibition as a Bronze Sponsor. Taking place in Dakar from December 9-10, the event unites regional energy ministers, global investors and project developers to explore opportunities across the oil, gas, power and renewable energy sectors. 

Neway Valve supplies equipment to major international oil companies such as TotalEnergies and Shell, offering subsea, control, safety and wellhead valves. Its presence at this year’s event reflects the increasing role of international service providers in unlocking new oil, gas and power opportunities across West Africa. 

Explore opportunities, foster partnerships and stay at the forefront of the MSGBC region’s oil, gas and power sector. Visit www.MSGBCOilGasandPower.com to secure your participation at the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2025 conference. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com. 

The company’s sponsorship comes as the region marks a series of significant milestones in energy development. In Senegal, energy major bp announced the first LNG cargo from the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (https://apo-opa.co/4nGfrLV) (GTA) project in April 2025, signaling the country’s entry into the global LNG market. GTA phase one is set to produce 2.3 million tons per annum (mtpa), with an additional phase targeting over 5 mtpa. 

Meanwhile, Senegal is continuing with the development of the offshore Yakaar-Teranga gas project (https://apo-opa.co/3In11l5), which aims to expand gas-to-power generation and LNG exports in the country. What’s more, the Sangomar oil field, which came online in 2024, has already exceeded expectations, producing 16.9 million barrels in its first year compared to an initial forecast of 11.7 million. 

In Guinea-Conakry, large-scale energy diversification is underway, creating opportunities for international technology providers. The country is finalizing a 22-block licensing round (https://apo-opa.co/4gBXgEM) that includes both on- and offshore assets, while the $300 million LNG terminal (https://apo-opa.co/48Aw2MO) at the Port of Kasmar is expected to support both imports and exports. 

As hydrocarbons continue to underpin long-term growth in Mauritania, Neway Valve is primed to enter new markets in the MSGBC region as the country advances the BirAllah gas development – one of Africa’s largest untapped resources with 80 trillion cubic feet of reserves. Planned production of up to 10 mtpa of LNG by 2030 positions Mauritania as a future global gas hub. Additionally, the country’s adoption of Africa’s first dedicated hydrocarbon code further reinforces its attractiveness to international operators. 

“Neway Valve’s participation as a Bronze Sponsor reflects the rising role of international technology providers in advancing hydrocarbon developments across the MSGBC region. Their expertise supports the safe and efficient delivery of critical projects,” states Sandra Jeque, Project Director, Energy Capital & Power. 

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

Source: APO

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With Africa requiring up to $240 billion annually to meet its energy and climate goals, attracting investment is more crucial than ever. A consistent theme emerging across the continent is the need for stable and transparent regulatory frameworks to foster investor confidence and drive sustainable development. Such frameworks provide the clarity and consistency investors need, directly influencing the flow of capital into the energy sector.

In markets like Nigeria, the introduction of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021 has been a significant step toward creating a more transparent and investor-friendly environment. The PIA aimed to overhaul the country’s oil and gas sector by unbundling the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and establishing clearer governance structures. Fiscal incentives were introduced to attract both domestic and foreign investment, and a host community fund was established to ensure that local populations benefit from energy projects. While the full potential of the PIA remains to be realized, Nigeria has attracted over $17 billion in FDI into its oil and gas sector since its enactment, signaling a positive response from the investment community.

In Angola, recent amendments to its General Electricity Law in July 2025 mark a pivotal step toward liberalizing the country’s electricity sector. These reforms aim to promote private sector involvement, enhance operational efficiency and support Angola’s energy transition. By breaking the monopoly of the state-owned electricity transmission company and introducing competitive market mechanisms, Angola seeks to create a more attractive environment for investors. Similarly, Angola’s oil and gas sector has seen targeted regulatory reforms designed to unlock its full potential. The introduction of the Incremental Production Initiative through Presidential Decree 8/24 in November 2024 has led to over $60 billion in investments committed for disbursement over the next five years. These reforms include fiscal incentives and a renewed focus on transparency, aiming to position Angola as a regional petroleum hub.

Conversely, in South Africa, the absence of clear and consistent regulatory processes has led to legal challenges that deter investment. In August 2025, the Western Cape High Court rescinded environmental permits granted to Shell and TotalEnergies for offshore oil exploration, citing inadequate environmental impact assessments and insufficient public consultation. This decision underscores the necessity for transparent and inclusive regulatory processes in gaining public trust and avoiding costly legal disputes.

These examples highlight a critical reality: without stable and transparent regulatory frameworks, even the most promising energy markets can falter. Investors seek environments where rules are clear, consistently applied, and where their investments are protected from arbitrary changes and legal uncertainties.

This year’s African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies conference, scheduled from September 29 to October 3 in Cape Town, presents a pivotal opportunity to address these challenges. AEW 2025 will convene key regulatory and policy leaders from across the continent to discuss strategies for enhancing investment climates through improved regulatory frameworks. The event aims to foster dialogue between governments, investors and civil society to promote transparency, accountability and sustainability in energy governance. By highlighting successful case studies and addressing challenges head-on, AEW 2025 seeks to chart a path toward a more resilient and investor-friendly African energy sector.

“The future of Africa’s energy sector depends on the establishment of stable and transparent regulatory frameworks. While reforms like Angola’s recent legislative changes offer a foundation, their success hinges on consistent implementation and institutional support. Simultaneously, lessons from other markets emphasize the need for inclusive and transparent processes to build public trust and attract investment. Events like AEW 2025 are instrumental in bringing together stakeholders to collaborate on creating enabling environments that foster sustainable energy development across the continent,” says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

About AEW: Invest in African Energies:
AEW: Invest in African Energies is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.

Source: APO

Cassava Technologies (Cassava) (www.CassavaTechnologies.com), a global technology leader of African heritage, has agreed a strategic collaboration with Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to scale Cassava’s sovereign AI capability across Africa.  

Accenture will leverage its AI Refinery™ (https://AIRefinery.Accenture.com) platform and other technologies to design and deliver sovereign AI solutions utilising Cassava’s GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), housed in Cassava’s secure data centre facilities, accelerated with NVIDIA AI infrastructure. The solutions will enable Cassava’s existing and potential customers to process AI workloads and data within national borders in alignment with local requirements and regulations.  

Cassava will begin in South Africa and later expand into Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria. This phased rollout is in line with Cassava’s expansions planned at its other data centre facilities across Africa. Cassava will leverage the company’s pan-African high-speed, ultra-low-latency, fibre broadband network, which interconnects the company’s energy-efficient data centres to power AI computing workloads. 

“AI is opening up exciting new opportunities for sparking innovation, advancing competitiveness and driving growth across Africa,” said Mauro Macchi, CEO of Accenture for Europe, Middle East and Africa. “With our deep, global experience in sovereign cloud and AI, Accenture will help Cassava deliver secure, scalable sovereign AI solutions and reimagine its operations. Together, we will enable organizations across the African continent to adopt AI with confidence and unlock new ways to create value.” 

“With our GPUaaS, Cassava will drive the continent’s AI revolution by allowing businesses to access compute power based on their individual needs. This is our commitment to ensuring Africa has the infrastructure and access it needs to compete in the AI era – AI isn’t just a technology story; it’s a nation-building story with inclusion at its centre,” said Ahmed El Beheiry, CEO of Cassava AI. “Collaborating with Accenture allows us to leverage their global expertise in building a sovereign AI cloud capability designed for the African market. This partnership will strengthen data governance, drive practical AI adoption across key industries, and ensure that we provide African solutions for African challenges.” 

Through this collaboration, the two companies will integrate the context, languages, and cultural nuances of the region into these AI solutions, ensuring that the solutions/services are relevant and impactful for African enterprises across key sectors such as financial services, mining, telecommunications, agriculture, and healthcare. This localised approach will not only strengthen compliance and trust but also ensure that the technology reflects the realities of the markets it serves, enabling businesses to innovate in ways that are meaningful and sustainable. 

Cassava will invest in the infrastructure and platform build-out to ensure readiness for commercialisation, with a focus on scalability, security, and compliance, thereby reinforcing its broader commitment to responsible AI adoption, innovation and productivity growth in Africa. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Cassava Technologies.

About Accenture:
Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 791,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.Accenture.com. 

About Cassava Technologies:
Cassava Technologies is a global technology leader of African heritage providing a vertically integrated ecosystem of digital services and infrastructure enabling digital transformation. Headquartered in the UK, Cassava has a presence across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the United States of America. Through its business units, namely, Cassava AI, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Liquid C2, Africa Data Centres, and Sasai Fintech, the company provides its customers’ products and services in 94 countries. These solutions drive the company’s ambition of establishing itself as a leading global technology company of African heritage. www.CassavaTechnologies.com

Source: APO

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Teresa Isabel Nnang, Director General of pan-African investment lobbying firm Blackstone EG & Partners, has joined this year’s African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies conference – taking place September 29 to October 3 in Cape Town. Nnang’s participation is expected to strengthen investment and collaboration in Equatorial Guinea as the country advances projects in offshore oil and gas processing.  

Working across multiple sectors, Blackstone EG & Partners strives to build partnerships between African states, global investors and multilateral institutions. Prior to her role at the company, Nnang served as the CEO of Equatorial Guinea’s national oil company GEPetrol, and as such, it well-positioned to lead discussions around emerging investment opportunities across Equatorial Guinea’s oil and gas sectors.  

AEW: Invest in African Energies is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.  

Working closely with strategic partners, Blackstone EG & Partners has emerged as a trusted facilitator connecting governments, multilateral institutions and private capital. The company’s primary roles include intermediation between investors and governments; regulatory and diplomatic process advisory; guidance on market entry and partnership development; projects and investment support; and promoting the country’s opportunities internationally. With a strong understanding of Equatorial Guinea – as well the broader African institutional landscape -, the company is well-positioned to support strategic investments as companies navigate Africa’s evolving energy market.  

The company is already taking key steps towards facilitating investment in Equatorial Guinea. In September 2025, Blackstone EG & Partners and the National Development Agency of Equatorial Guinea signed an agreement to boost investment in the country. The agreement establishes a joint working framework aimed at coordinating activities, sharing information and promoting investment opportunities. It also lays the foundation for the partners to attract investors in high-impact development projects in the country.  

The agreement comes at a pivotal time for Equatorial Guinea. With goals to increase oil and gas production, the country is making strides towards revitalizing legacy assets and advancing upstream projects. Strategic collaboration and new investment will serve as a vehicle for achieving these goals, underscoring the role companies such as Blackstone EG & Partners play. Recent milestones point to Equatorial Guinea’s willingness to engage global investors.  

Notably, ConocoPhillips transported its inaugural LNG cargo from the Punta Europa facility in June 2025, advancing the country’s flagship Gas Mega Hub initiative. GEPetrol launched a multi-phase redevelopment plan at the Zafiro field in Block B, striving to increase production, optimize operations and ensure the field’s long-term growth. The first phase was initiated in 2025 and encompassed the reconnection of select wells previously tied to the Zafiro Producer floating production unit. Phase two will optimize costs and enhance well efficiency while phase three will deliver a full redevelopment of the field. Trident Energy is advancing the development of Block G, with the company bringing the first infill well online in 2024, while Kosmos Energy recently completed an exploration drilling campaign in the country.  

While these developments highlight the potential for large-scale investments in Equatorial Guinea, with over 1.1 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 1.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the country continues to offer significant growth potential for active and potential operators. With Equatorial Guinea set to launch its EG Ronda 2026 Licensing Round at AEW: Invest in African Energies 2025, the country is gearing up to welcome a wave of investment across its upstream market. Blackstone EG & Partners stands ready to support future investors seeking forays into this dynamic energy market.  

“Equatorial Guinea is entering a transformative phase, with new investment frameworks and upstream opportunities unlocking long-term growth. Amid this growth, Blackstone EG & Partners plays a crucial role in advancing Equatorial Guinea’s investment landscape. By connecting governments, investors and institutions, the company is driving strategic projects that will shape the country’s long-term growth and development,” states Tomás Gerbasio, VP Commercial and Strategic Engagement, African Energy Chamber. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

Source: APO

inDrive South Africa (https://inDrive.com), in partnership with the TEARS Foundation, recently hosted a youth mobility training session aimed at building a culture of safety, respect and accountability for students and young commuters in South Africa. 

The training focused on the practical realities young commuters face on South Africa’s roads and in public transport, including risks associated with unsafe routes, unfamiliar drivers, and online threats that can spill into daily life. 

“Our goal is to make every journey safer for all commuters, especially young people and students, who are statistically more vulnerable to risks in transit, including accidents, harassment and gender-based violence,” said Ashif Black, CountryRepresentative for inDrive South Africa. 

Beyond the visible tools, inDrive’s backend safety measures, such as AI moderation, profile verification, liveness checks, and complaint response systems, work continuously to block harmful behavior and enhance rider security. 

Making journeys safer 

Transport can present safety challenges for young people, especially women, who often face a higher risk of gender-based violence. This is why it’s important to create safer, more supportive mobility options. In 2024 alone, the TEARS Foundation fielded over 75,000 requests for assistance, underscoring the scale of the crisis and the urgent need for proactive safety measures.  As such, in addition to personal safety measures, inDrive showcased its in-app safety tools, including the SOS button, Share Trip feature, Trusted Contacts, in-app calls to protect personal numbers and 24/7 support. 

“Our mission is to give young people the knowledge and confidence they need to navigate transport safely, so they can move freely and with dignity,” said Mara Glennie, Founder & Chief Executive Office at the TEARS Foundation. “What’s more, when youth are informed and vigilant, they become powerful agents of change in their communities.” 

The training reinforced that safety is a shared responsibility. Respect, accountability, and vigilance are values that protect both passengers and drivers, creating a safer transport ecosystem for everyone. 

“We want young people using inDrive to feel safe, supported and in control,” said Black. “Young commuters face real risks on our roads and in public transport, and it’s critical they know how to protect themselves and each other.” 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of inDrive.

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