Economy
GE Installs 100th Power Plant in Sub-Saharan Africa
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
One of the leading players in the energy sector in Africa, GE Power, has announced installing its 100th power plant in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This significant milestone was achieved with power plants in Angola powered by trailer-mounted aero gas turbine technology. The company has now installed over 300 turbines in up to 22 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
GE Power is at the forefront of innovation and technology in energy while collaborating with power producers across the region.
Commenting on this feat, Leslie Nelson, CEO, GE’s Gas Power business, Sub-Saharan Africa, said, “This milestone is a testimony of our commitment to providing power solutions to meet the growing energy needs in many countries in the region ahead of other OEMs.
“Our regional operations are led by an expert African team. Our flexible and modular energy solutions respond to the ever-changing needs of the communities where we work and live.
“Our ability to partner with independent power producers, EPCs, strategic investors and governments to deliver these power projects strengthens the trust and confidence that our customers place in us”.
GE’s first turbine installation in Sub-Saharan Africa can be traced as far back as the early 1970s with its Frame 5 gas turbine technology. Since then, GE Power has been at the forefront of innovation in power technology with the most recent fuel-flexible and highly efficient 9EMax gas turbines, superior ultra-super-critical steam technology as well as a broad range of hydro and wind turbines and generators. GE has power plant installations in up to 22 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and this number is set to grow even further.
GE reinforces its commitment to investment in the region through skills development initiatives to broaden and nurture its talent pool within the countries it operates. In South Africa, $2.4 million worth of student bursaries have been awarded in partnership with Eskom.
In Ghana, $3.5 million was donated to support the Engineering Program at Ashesi University. Over 120 employees are on GE Leadership development programs today. Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives are also carried out through a wide range of projects in the areas of health, education, environment and community-building to improve lives in the countries where we work and live.
Ghana
Over 70 percent of the thermal power in Ghana runs on GE technology with over 600MW added to the grid in the last 24 months, with an additional 900MW planned over the next 2 years. Leading examples include the 400MW Bridgepower project – in consortium with indigenous partners, Endeavour and Sage Petroleum – which will be the first LPG-fired power plant in Africa and the largest LPG fired power plant in the world. In partnership with Marinus Energy, the Atuabo Waste Gas to power project will be the first TM2500 plant to use otherwise flared Isopentane gas as a fuel source. The 200MW Amandi power plant which will come online in 2019, will run on GE’s latest 9E technology offering superior fuel flexibility.
Nigeria
In Nigeria today, GE technology provides over 75 percent of the gas-powered on-grid generation, with more than 3GW of heavy duty and fuel-flexible gas turbines at nine power plants including the Omotosho I & II power plants as well as GE’s innovative trailer-mounted gas turbines currently being installed at the Afam III Fast Power plant. GE is committed to Nigeria’s Vision 2020; signing a Country to company agreement with the Nigerian government to support development of up to 10GW of power.
Angola
GE and the Angola Ministry of Energy and Water are set to achieve the country’s additional electric power generation capacity target of 2000MW. Today, about 80 percent of Angola’s gas-powered generation runs on GE technology providing energy for up to 2 million Angolan households. With over 20 trailer mounted gas turbines installed at fast power plants and the 750MW Soyo I combined cycle power plant under construction, Angola is well on its way to achieving its energy ambitions.
Ivory Coast
GE is a historical player and a pioneer in the power sector in Ivory Coast. The first-ever gas turbines (Vridi, 1984), the first independent power production project (Ciprel, 1994) and the first combined-cycle power plants in the country (Azito and Ciprel, 2015) all run mainly on GE technology. In 2015, GE committed to support the country’s infrastructure development goals, which includes adding 1GW of power to the Ivorian national grid. The Azito Power plant produces more than a third of the electricity in the country and marks GE’s Power Services’ first GT13E2 MXL2 gas turbine upgrade in SSA. This upgrade will add an additional 30MW to the plant’s 450MW production capacity. In addition, GE is setting up an M&D (Monitoring and Diagnostic) centre in Ivory Coast to provide the digital data and analytics service to improve performance and lower lifecycle costs of all GE equipment in the region.
Kenya
Kenya needs a diverse energy mix to support its growth initiatives. The 1050MW Lamu power project will use GE’s ultra-super critical technology to deliver superior efficiency and lowest emissions. The project will guarantee that up to 30 percent of electricity produced in Kenya is reliable baseload power.
South Africa
In South Africa, GE is deploying smarter, cleaner, steam technology at the Medupi and Kusile Power plants. Kusile is the first wet flue gas desulphurization plant in the continent and has 93 percent removal efficiency rate. Upon completion, Kusile and Medupi will provide up to 9600MW – enough power to meet the electricity needs of about 7 million households in South Africa.
“As a company, we believe that one of the key drivers of development in Africa is power. Lowering the tariffs, figuring out how we can make the most of the grid, optimizing the energy value chain – this is what we think about as a business and work towards improving everyday” said Lee Dawes, General Manager, GE Steam Power in Sub-Saharan Africa.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the leading local energy firms, Oando Plc, delivered an impressive financial performance in the first six months of 2026, according to details of its results filed to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
Between January and June 2026, revenue surged by 20 per cent to N2.1 trillion from N1.7 trillion in the same period of 2025, driven by growth in the Exploration & Production and Trading segments of the business.
Also, the net profit grew by 8 per cent year-on-year to N68.6 billion from N63.3 billion, supported by improved operating profits and tax credits.
It was observed that the organisation deepened its domestic gas monetisation portfolio with the commencement of long-term gas supply of 11.2 MMscfd to the newly commissioned 60 MW Bayelsa Independent Power Plant.
“The first half of 2026 marks an important inflexion point in Oando’s journey. Over the past two years, our priority has been to successfully integrate one of the most significant upstream acquisitions in Africa and unlock the full value of our expanded portfolio. The progress achieved during the period demonstrates that we are now delivering the operational and financial outcomes expected from that transformation,” the chief executive of Oando, Mr Adewale Tinubu, stated.
Commenting further on the results, Mr Tinubu said, “Operational efficiency underpinned our performance during the period as we strengthened asset integrity, improved facility reliability and reinforced security across our operating areas, resulting in average facility uptime of 92 per cent while reducing production operating costs by 18 per cent to $16.83 per boe.”
“Our development programme also gathered significant momentum during the period as we successfully drilled and completed two land development wells, with an additional land well currently being drilled, while mobilising a second drilling rig to accelerate activity across our operated portfolio.
“In parallel, we continued an extensive programme of rig-less well interventions designed to restore production, sustain plateau output and mitigate natural field decline. Together, these activities increased average production to 42,789 boepd, representing 16 per cent year-on-year growth.
“This translated into a stronger financial performance, with revenue increasing by 20 per cent to N2.1 trillion, while the business generated N179.5 billion in operating cash, improving liquidity. Profit after tax also increased by 8 per cent to N68.6 billion, reflecting the overall improvement in operating performance during the period,” he pointed out.
The Oando chief also said, “Looking ahead in 2026, our priorities remain firmly centred on completing our seven-well drilling programme and portfolio-wide well intervention campaign while delivering production of circa 50,000 boepd.
“Beyond 2026, our identified inventory of 62 development wells, supported by 55 planned well interventions, provides a clear pathway towards our medium-term production ambition of approximately 100,000 boepd.
“Furthermore, we shall execute an intensive fundraising and balance sheet restructuring programme to optimise our capital structure, strengthen our financial position, improve working capital, enhance financial flexibility and ensure the business is appropriately funded to accelerate growth and maximise long-term shareholder value.
“We have built a resilient operating platform and established a clear roadmap for growth. Our focus is now on translating our significant opportunities into higher production, a stronger balance sheet and superior long-term returns for our shareholders.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Africa-focused fintech company PalmPay has joined the ranks of unicorn startups after attaining a valuation of more than $1 billion, as the digital payment platform prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong.
According to a report by Bloomberg on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter, the Hong Kong-headquartered company is in advanced discussions to raise about $200 million in a new funding round that would cement its unicorn status and support its next phase of expansion.
The planned fundraising comes as PalmPay accelerates its growth strategy across Africa and Asia, while positioning itself for a public listing that could become one of the most significant fintech IPOs involving an Africa-focused company in recent years.
PalmPay’s move follows a period of rapid growth in Nigeria, where it has become one of the country’s largest digital financial services providers. Alongside OPay and Moniepoint, the company forms the trio that dominates Nigeria’s retail digital payments and agency banking market, a segment driven by millions of point-of-sale (POS) transactions processed daily.
With PalmPay’s latest valuation milestone, all three leading Nigerian fintechs have now achieved unicorn status. While OPay has previously disclosed plans to pursue a listing in the United States, Moniepoint has remained focused on expanding its banking and business services without publicly indicating IPO ambitions.
Founded in 2019 after securing a Mobile Money Operator (MMO) licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), PalmPay has built one of the country’s fastest-growing fintech ecosystems. The company says it now serves more than 35 million registered users and over 600,000 merchants, supported by an extensive network of more than 500,000 mobile money agents nationwide.
The platform offers a broad suite of financial services, including peer-to-peer transfers, bill payments, airtime purchases, savings, credit products, merchant payment solutions and agency banking services. PalmPay says it processes as many as 15 million transactions daily, reflecting the increasing adoption of digital payments across Nigeria.
Beyond its home market, the fintech has expanded into Tanzania, Ghana, and Bangladesh, underscoring its ambition to become a leading emerging-market digital bank. Industry analysts view the expansion as part of a broader strategy to diversify revenue streams while replicating its Nigerian success in other underbanked markets.
PalmPay has attracted backing from prominent global investors, including Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer MediaTek and smartphone maker Transsion Holdings, whose Tecno, Infinix and itel brands command significant market share across Africa. Their support has helped PalmPay leverage smartphone penetration to drive financial inclusion through mobile-first banking services.
As part of efforts to strengthen its leadership ahead of its next growth phase, PalmPay recently appointed Mr Samuel Oluyemi as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for its Nigerian business. Mr Oluyemi joined the company after more than two decades at the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), where he played key roles in developing the country’s digital payments infrastructure.
If completed, the fundraising and eventual Hong Kong listing would further underscore growing international investor confidence in African fintech companies despite a more cautious global venture capital environment. The proceeds are expected to support PalmPay’s geographical expansion, deepen its product offerings, invest in technology infrastructure and strengthen its competitive position in Africa’s rapidly evolving digital financial services industry.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Market bellwethers, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 2.08 per cent on Monday, August 3.
CSCS Plc, the Nigerian securities depository company, gained N10.00 to close at N112.00 per share compared with the previous session’s N102.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc advanced by N4.71 to quote at N152.64 per unit versus last Friday’s N147.93 per unit.
As a result, the NASD Security Index (NSI) added 92.14 points to finish at 4,523.85 points compared with the preceding session’s 4,431.71 points, and the market capitalisation appreciated by N55.31 billion to N2.715 trillion from N2.659 trillion.
Business Post reports that the price of MRS Oil Plc crashed during the trading day by N12.00 to N120.00 per share from N132.00 per share, and UBN Property Plc dipped by 3 Kobo to N1.90 per unit from N1.93 per unit.
Trading data showed that the volume of securities exchanged rose by 113.1 per cent to 1.5 million units from 690,990 units, and the number of deals climbed by 19.2 per cent to 31 deals from 26 deals, while the value of securities slid by 13.1 per cent to N65.2 million from N75.0 million.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 76.8 million units traded for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
