By Alphonsus E.W
Oando Marketing Plc, Nigeria’s leading downstream petroleum marketing company has recorded yet another feat in its commitment to switch the nation to cooking gas. Oando Marketing’s unrelenting efforts got a boost last week as it signed an agreement with KFW, a German government owned development bank based in Frankfurt, to invest €5m (over N1billion) to further enhance the availability of cooking gas to low income earners in the country.
The agreement was signed in Frankfurt last week by KFW’s Director of the Department “Africa Regional Programmes”, Thomas Duve and Oando Marketing’s Chief Executive Officer, Abayomi Awobokun.
Speaking on the development, Awobokun, revealed that funds invested through the agreement will be made available to select 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 LPG investments.
Only recently, Oando Marketing Plc 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.
With the MFB partnership, the reach of the company’s 3-in-1 3kg O-Gas cylinder is now extended and made accessible to virtually everyone as intending end users may approach a wide range of Micro-Finance Banks with only N200 as an initial deposit and walk away with the complete set of portable 3kg O-Gas. However, such buyers will be expected to make a N200 daily deposit with any of the partnering micro finance banks for 30 days until they would have completed the payment cycle for the 3-in-1 unit.
Speaking on its new investment deal with the German bank, Awobokun further stated that it is a new dawn altogether for gas usage in the country particularly for the low income earners as Oando is committed to making life more comfortable through unhindered access to affordable cooking gas. He further stated the benefits of switching the nation to gas to include provision of a cleaner and safer fuel option for lower income households, reduction of Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) that causes significant health problems, a decline in carbon emissions caused by dirty fuels and a decrease in the rate of deforestation in Nigeria.
