Salma Okonkwo JN2
Salma Okonkwo (born July 8, 1970) is an entrepreneur in the energy sector, based in West Africa. She is currently building the biggest solar farm in Ghana, scheduled to open in 2019 as one of the largest green energy enterprises in Africa.[1]
Early life and education[edit]
Okonkwo was born in Accra, Ghana, and was educated at Mfanstiman Girls Secondary School. She holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.[1] After graduation she worked in sales and marketing.
Energy sector[edit]
In 2004, Okonkwo returned to Ghana after being recruited by Sahara Energy, a multinational oil and gas company,[1] where she became its first female director. In 2007, she founded energy trading business UBI Petroleum, specializing in procurement, storage, marketing and distribution of petroleum products in West Africa, with a primary focus on Ghana. In 2008 the company earned its license from the Ghanaian government to operate as an official Oil Management Company (OMC). In 2012, Okonkwo expanded her holdings and created the UBI Group, an integrated energy solutions provider. Its five subsidiaries are: • UBI Petroleum markets and distributes refined petroleum products in Ghana. • UBI Energy handles physical oil trading in Ghana and other West African regions. • Hargis Limited offers bunkering and chartering services to the shipping industry. • Blue Ocean Investments Ltd. Makes strategic investments in storage facilities and bulk distribution of petroleum products in local markets. • UBI Transport and Logistics In 2014, Okonkwo sold 49% of the UBI Group to PUMA Energy[2] which now provides the companies’ technical and operational infrastructure. In 2016 UBI Petroleum became PUMA Energy Ghana.[3] Okonkwo’s Blue Power Energy will be online with its 100 megawatt solar farm in spring, 2019.[1] She continues as Chairman of both PUMA Energy Ghana and the UBI Group of Companies. She is also the co-founder and a board member of Blue Star Exploration and sits on the board of directors of Makmera Upstream, an upstream exploration company.
Other activities[edit]
In addition to sitting on board of real estate development company Nahid's Properties, Okonkwo is the founder of the Mother's Heart Foundation, a Ghanaian NGO that supports displaced and other underprivileged children with food, shelter, health care and education opportunities. She participates in a number of other mentoring programs for women and children, including the Jeffrey Sachs Millennium Villages in Ghana. Through UBI’s Corporate Social Responsibility mandate, Okonkwo supports the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, helping underwrite the cost of corrective surgeries for children with atrial septal defects. She also sponsors the President's Tennis Cup, a benefit tournament organized by the Ghana Tennis Association and held annually at the Accra Sports Stadium. Okonkwo champions environmental issues and ordered installation of environmentally–friendly fiber glass fuel storage tanks at UBI filling stations.[4]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Sorvino, Chloe (31 July 2018). "Why This 48-Year-Old Woman Is Building Ghana's Biggest Solar Farm". Forbes. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ↑ Administrator. "Petrol World - Ghana: Puma Energy Acquires UBI Fuel Marketing". Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ↑ Graphic, Daily. "Puma Energy takes over operations of UBI Holdings". Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ↑ "UBI Opens Asafo Branch". modernghana.com. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
This article "Salma Okonkwo JN2" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Salma Okonkwo JN2. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
