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Emerging African enterprise, Harvest Group, spreads reach to Zambia, launches filling stations, foundation

Published

2 years ago

September 26, 2022

One of Africa’s emerging conglomerates, Harvest Group of Companies Limited, has made bold its announced plan to expand its business reach by opening a chain of filling stations in Zambia.

The Group, which has business interests across sectors like energy, e-commerce, logistics, hospitality, and infrastructure development had announced that it would open forty filling stations in the East African country by year-end 2022.

Speaking recently at the commissioning of Harvest retail outlet on the International Airport axis in Lusaka, the Group’s chairman, Ugo Ikoro-Ngadi remarked that “Harvest Group is making huge strides that are not only bolstering our bottom line and transforming the Zambian and sub-Saharan African economy but also improving lives of people.”

The chairman, Ikoro-Ngadi further revealed that the group’s commitment to human development has birthed the Harvest Foundation through which it aims “to incubate at least 50,000 small businesses across Africa in the next half decade “through mentoring, knowledge-sharing and financial support.”

“As a responsible corporate entity, we will keep our promises to impact communities around us, especially vulnerable African women and youths” he added.

He also admitted the group’s understanding of the challenges that may lie ahead in its recent quest but reiterated that as perceptive entrepreneurs, they see bright prospects.

“Our convictions are guided by market intelligence which shows Africa’s youths as an emerging powerhouse, and the continent as an investment destination.” He added.

With over $10 million in annual revenue and the capacity to handle other non-oil offerings that are associated with filling stations, Harvest has the vision is to be the most innovative distributor of quality refined petroleum products in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Petroleum products contribute 9.4% to the total national energy demand in Zambia. The country imports all its petroleum products, that is, petroleum feedstock and finished products.

But the distribution line is largely local, a turf which players like Harvest Group of Companies hope to dominate. The products are distributed to various government-owned depots where Oil Marketing Companies lift the finished products and distribute them to their own depots, service stations, and commercial customers.

Zambia’s Minister of Energy, Peter Kapala while speaking at the commissioning in Lusaka, said that the government was keen on reforms in the energy sector and formulation of policies that are targeted at specific areas of interest for the private sector and centred on the ease of doing business.

The minister also mentioned that such investments are products of “deliberate and intentional private sector-supporting policies fully and meaningfully employed” by the government.

Harvest Group’s investment in Zambia is capable of “empowering the mass of underserved African women and vulnerable youths” in the country. The minister added.

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Nigeria: Marketers predict further price cut as another refinery begins operations

Published

23 hours ago

December 31, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Oil marketers and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority expect refined petroleum product prices to reduce as another public refinery in Warri begins operations.

The marketers made the prediction when the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited launched the 125,000-barrel-per-day Delta State WRPC. NNPCL also wants to export locally refined goods for foreign cash. Last month, the 60,000-barrel-per-day Port Harcourt Refinery in Rivers State began operations.

During an inspection tour of the facility on Monday, the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, explained that the inspection aimed to show Nigerians the level of work completed so far.

During a tour with NMDPRA CEO Farouk Ahmed and NNPC Board Chairman Pius Akinyelure, Kyari said that while facility repairs were not yet 100% complete, refining operations had begun and would produce straight-run kerosene, diesel and naphtha.

In a statement commemorating the milestone, President Bola Tinubu stated the plant is functioning at 60% or 75,000 barrels per day.

Kyari said, “We are taking you through our plant. This plant is running. Although it is not 100 per cent complete, we are still in the process. Many people think these things are not real. They think real things are not possible in this country. We want you to see that this is real.”

Since some of these goods would be shipped to foreign markets, he said, the reopening of the Warri refinery will help the country become a net exporter of petroleum products.

“Secondly, this plant had three stages; we have started plant one, which we call Area One. It can produce AGO (diesel), kerosene, naphtha, and a blend of crude oil. These are high-grade quality products required in the country, and we may need to export them. So this will give us cash, this company will make money and the promise of Mr President that this country must be a net exporter of petroleum products is already happening. Some of these products will go into the international market.

“Most importantly, I must put on record that Mr President believes that we can get this to work and get them to start and gave us the charge that we must start all three refineries. It’s already happening; we have started the 60,000 barrels per day refinery, and Area One of the Warri refinery is already working. Other plants that would produce PMS are being streamed and they would also come alive.

Mustapha Zarma, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria’s National Operations Controller, stated that the rivalry in the downstream oil industry will become more fierce.

There will undoubtedly be a further decrease in pricing if the plant begins producing goods in bulk, he stated. This is because the market will ultimately be influenced by market forces and there will be fierce rivalry.

Until recently, none of Nigeria’s publicly owned refineries has worked to capacity for years, despite several investments to revive them. The failure of the government to revive them contributed to the high level of national anticipation surrounding the Dangote refinery whose operations appear to have revolutionalised the industry.

The refinery will concentrate on manufacturing and storing essential goods, such as heavy and light naphtha, automotive petrol oil and straight-run kerosene.

The country’s first fully owned refinery, the WRPC, was put into service in 1978 and is situated in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. It was first built to process 100,000 barrels of crude oil a day, but in 1987 it was updated to process 125,000 barrels.

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Kenya: Consumer inflation rises to 3.0% from 2.8%

Published

23 hours ago

December 31, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Kenya’s statistics agency said on Tuesday that Kenya’s consumer price inflation increased slightly to 3.0% year-over-year in December from 2.8% the previous month.

According to a release from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, monthly inflation was 0.6%, down from 0.3% in November. Kenya aims to have a medium-term inflation rate of 2.5% to 7.5%.

With inflation under control, Kenya’s central bank said there was an opportunity for looser policy to assist economic development, lowering its benchmark lending rate by a larger-than-expected 75 basis points to 11.25% on December 5.

Kenya’s GDP expanded by 5.2% in 2023, up from 4.8% in 2022, thanks to a recovery in agriculture and a modest increase in services. Household consumption accounted for 70% of the growth on the demand side, while services and agriculture accounted for 69% and 23% of the growth, respectively, on the supply side.