Oando Partners German Bank In €5m Deal

Oando Marketing plc, a subsidiary of Nigeria indigenous oil and gas company, Oando Plc has partnered with KFW, a German government-owned development bank based in Frankfurt, to invest €5 million (over N1bn) in production of cooking gas for low income earners.

The agreement which was signed by KFW’s director of the department, Africa Regional Programmes, Thomas Duve and Abayomi Awobokun, Oando marketing’s CEO in Frankfurt will enable easy and more durable access for its customers to cooking gas.

Awobokun explained that the funds invested through the agreement will be made available to selected micro finance institutions who will then lend the funds out to end users of cooking gas as well as micro, small and medium sized enterprises for their liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) investments.

Foresight MFB, Lake MFB, Channel MFB, Esusu MFB, Capstone MFB and Infinity MFB, Sunrise MFB, Acute MFB, Strong Alliance MFB and Global Initiative MFB, among others; are some of the MFBs participating in the scheme.

Awobokun said the investment deal marks a new dawn altogether for gas usage in the country, particularly for the low income earners as Oando was committed to making life more comfortable through unhindered access to affordable cooking gas.

Other benefits of switching the nation to gas according to him include provision of a cleaner and safer fuel option for lower income households, reduction of indoor air pollution that causes significant health problems, a decline in carbon emissions caused by dirty fuels and a decrease in the rate of deforestation in Nigeria.

Oando Marketing plc which recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nigeria’s National Association of Microfinance Banks (MFBs) in alignment with the sole objective of making a cleaner and safer cooking fuel more accessible to Nigerians said the MFB partnership will help to extend the company’s 3-in-1 3kg O-Gas cylinder to intending users.