March 25, 2015 “Partnership Opportunities in East Africa”

On March 25, CCA’s Power and Trade Working Group hosted Dr. Gachao Kiuna, CEO of TransCentury at the Capital Club in Nairobi, Kenya to discuss partnership opportunities in East Africa. This event marked the first time that CCA has hosted a working group on the continent.

The event began with opening remarks from Stephen Hayes, president and CEO, CCA, who gave a warm welcome to attendees and emphasized the importance of hosting the meeting in Kenya. Mr. Hayes also announced that CCA will officially open its East Africa office in May, and the organizations East Africa Director, Sonia Mfasoni, will operate out of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) headquarters in Nairobi. Read More 

February 10, 2015 "Power Project Opportunities in MCC's Benin Compact"

On Tuesday, February 10^th, CCA’s Power Working Group was honored to host a presentation by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on power project opportunities in the new Benin Compact. The meeting featured four representatives of MCC, including Mr. Christopher Broughton, the country team leader for Benin.  His Excellency, Mr. Omar Arouna, Ambassador of Benin, was present at the entire meeting and gave the opening remarks for the presentation.

H. E. Mr. Omar Arouna began by stating his gratitude for the dedication of the MCC staff in Benin. He highlighted some demographic and economic statistics of Benin, a country with over 10 million inhabitants and a GDP (PPP) of $16.7 billion (and $1,623 per capita). Benin’s economy experienced 5.6% economic growth in 2013.  Benin experiences a foreign direct investment inflow of $320.1 million. Their public debt is only 29.8% of their GDP (figures above based upon 2013 data). The main source of energy in Benin is biomass (namely firewood). In 2014 they discovered energy off the coast, but this is yet to be developed. They are considering regasification and potentially mini-regasification. Benin experiences domestic power shortages every day, which is why MCC’s compact and its focus on energy is welcomed. Benin is considered an entry door to West Africa, and a stable member of ECOWAS, a region holding huge markets for business investment. In 2011 the passage of anti-corruption legislation occurred, initiated by the president. H.E. Mr. Omar Arouna added his concern over the lack of U.S. business involvement on the continent, and announced that the Embassy is ready to facilitate access to the energy market with an energy trade mission to Benin in April. Read More 

A summary of the Compact, a call for ideas, and other relevant Compact documents can be viewed at: http://goo.gl/xfMMMa

January 28, 2015 “Project Opportunities with Kenya Electricity Generating Company Limited (KenGen)”

CCA’s Power Working Group was honored to host a presentation by the Kenya Electricity Generating Company Limited (KenGen). The meeting featured four representatives of the company, including: the Chairman of KenGen, Mr. Joshua Kibet Choge; and the CEO of KenGen, Mr. Albert Mugo.

In his presentation, Mr. Albert Mugo began by highlighting significant statistics on power generation on the continent. There is 129GW of aggregate generation capacity on the continent. Kenya, with a population of 44 million people, consumes electricity at an average of 175kWh/yr. As the East African community (Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya) accelerates its regional economic and infrastructural integration, they will rely on importing power from Kenya to meet the high demand of power and eliminate shortages. Read More

December 16, 2014 "Power Working Group- Power Project and Financing Opportunities / Launch of Power Africa and Trade Africa Web Portal"

The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) hosted a Power Working Group meeting at the offices of Akin Gump on power project and financing opportunities. Guest speakers included Mr. James M. Mworia, CEO, of Centum Investment Ltd., and Mr. Michael Philipp, Chairman, of Reykjavik Geothermal. Each of the speakers discussed their experiences doing business on the continent and highlighted their companies’ major projects. During the meeting, CCA also launched their Power Africa and Trade Africa Web Portal, discussing the site’s main features along with ways companies can use the site to feature and search tender opportunities.
 
In the opening remarks, CCA’s CEO Stephen Hayes discussed the Council’s highlights from 2014 to include hosting 22 special events featuring nine Heads of State and key ministers from every industry during the August African Leaders’ Summit. CCA member Carl Fleming of Akin Gump also welcomed the audience by discussing his experience in the past year as a Power Africa partner and provided some insight on trends in negotiating and advising clients on business in Africa. Read More

February 18, 2015 “A Roundtable on MCC’s Procurement Policies”

On Wednesday, February 18, CCA’s Energy Working Group was honored to host a presentation by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on procurement policies in their MCA contracts. The meeting featured four representatives of MCC, including Mr. Prabhat Garg, the practice lead and senior director of program procurements.  This meeting was a highly interactive session and the roundtable discussion provided an opportunity for companies to learn more about procurement and grant opportunities and provide feedback to the current process. Read More

July 16, 2014    "Exxon’s Approach to Developing Local Capacity in Nigeria"

On July 15, The Corporate Council on Africa’s Energy Working Group had the pleasure to host Mr. Udom Inoyo, who is the Executive Director for Mobil Producing Nigeria and In-Country Human Resources Manager at Exxon Mobil. Mr. Inoyo led an engaging discussion on ExxonMobil’s national content policies and ways that other companies can develop local capacity in Nigeria. â€‹Mr. Inoyo started the discussion with background information on national content in Nigeria. The country’s oil and gas industry became active and booming in 1970’s. However, decades later, policy makers realized that much of the Nigerian population had not benefited from the oil development in the country. This led to the passage of the Nigerian National Content Policy and the subsequent 2010 National Content Act, which provides regulations that increase the involvement of indigenous companies and workforce in the oil and gas industry. Read More



June 10, 2014    "A Special Luncheon with Standard Bank"

 

CCA’s Energy working group hosted a luncheon with executives from Standard Bank, including Mr. Victor Williams, head of corporate and investment banking in Nigeria, and Mr. David Humphrey, global sector head of power and Infrastructure, to discuss an array of investment opportunities emerging in sub-Saharan Africa. Mr. Williams provided a brief overview of growth trends that have remained constant on the continent, while highlighting new ways to drive sector specific development in Nigeria. He continued by describing the increasingly promising Nigerian market, which boasts a population of more than 171 million people, the majority of which is part of a growing middle class that is purchasing an increasing amount of consumer goods. Read More

June 3, 2014   An Overview of Niger’s Energy Sector Opportunities"

 

CCA’s Energy Working Group hosted the Honorable Foumakoye Gado, minister of energy and petroleum for the Republic of Niger. During his presentation, a number of points were covered, ranging from the growing opportunities in oil exploration to the national expansion of electrical power grids and capacity. Minister Gado began by introducing the most promising prospects for foreign investors interested in entering the petroleum market in Niger, specifically citing the success of the Agadem block in the Eastern basin. He stated that this particular operation is being managed by China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), who has been extremely active in the region since bidding out seven other companies in 2008. 

May 15, 2014    "Local Content: Building Local Partnerships to Strengthen Africa’s Energy Sector "

 

CCA member Dentons invited CCA’s Energy Working group to participate in a session on local content, as part of the annual Oil and Gas legal training program organized by International Law Institute. The session featured Irena Agalliu, managing director of IHS Consulting, for a discussion on local content development in oil and gas producing regions. Ms. Agailliu began by defining the objectives of local content improvement, such as the employment and training of locals, the procurement of local goods and services, and the provision of social infrastructure through the construction of schools, hospitals, and roads. Although this local investment is aimed at driving economic and social growth, national requirements have, at times, deterred the entry of multinational service providers through unintended legal, commercial, and practical implications. Read More

 

May 12, 2014    "Investing in West Africa's Energy and Power Sector with Mr. Afolabi Oladele"

 

CCA’s Energy and Finance Working Groups co-hosted Mr. Afolabi Oladele, partner at African Capital Alliance (ACA), based out of Lagos, Nigeria. Mr. Oladele began by highlighting the investment potential throughout Nigeria and West Africa and how his private equity firm has worked to capture this opportunity.  ACA was formed in 1997 and has built a wealth of credibility and recognition since it began operating, facilitating funding amassing to over $700 million. ACA’s investments span over a number of sectors; however, Mr. Oladele cited the energy industry as an area that has become increasingly promising. Read More


May 6, 2014    "Industry Briefing: Oil & Gas Opportunities in Ghana at the Offshore Technology Conference" (Houston, Texas)

 

The CCA Energy Working Group was honored to co-host an industry briefing on Oil & Gas Opportunities in Ghana at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas. The meeting featured: the Vice President of Ghana, His Excellency P.K. Amissah Arthur; the Minister of Energy, the Honorable Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah; the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, the Honorable Gene Cretz; and the CEO for the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC)Alexander Kofi-Mensah Mould; as well as private sector speakers from Kosmos Energy and General Electric. Read More


April 7, 2014    "A Discussion with the 2014 Eisenhower Fellows"

On April 7th, CCA held a discussion with Eisenhower fellows Sumayya Hassan-Athmanti, CEO and Managing Director of the National Oil Corporation of Kenya, and Dominic Brisby, President of Altadis, SA. Ms. Hassan-Athmanti discussed the growing potential driving petroleum production in Kenya through downstream and upstream activity. Despite a few obstacles, such as infrastructure limitations and development of local talent, there continues to be tremendous space for growth. She also highlighted a number of objectives that are aimed at facilitating this progression, such as the construction of modern geochemical laboratories and improvement of drilling and seismic services. Read More


March 10, 2014    "The Africa Energy Outlook from ExxonMobil with guest speaker: Rob Gardner"

CCA’s Energy Working Group hosted Rob Gardner, Manager of the Economics and Energy Division in ExxonMobil’s Corporate Strategic Planning Department. The discussion focused on ExxonMobil’s 2014 “Outlook for Energy,” which projects trends in global energy markets through 2040. Highlighting developments in the African region, Mr. Gardner discussed the impact of demographic changes on energy demand at the residential and commercial levels, the gradual decline of biomass as a primary energy source, and the region’s ability to be a net natural gas exporter despite the increasing importance of gas for domestic electricity generation. Read More