Next-generation financial services platform Mukuru (www.Mukuru.com), one of the most recognisable fintech brands on the continent, has announced that it is sponsoring Zimbabwe’s national rugby team as it seeks to achieve Rugby World Cup qualification, the first since 1991.

With the hopes of a nation on their shoulders, the Sables, as the national team is known, will run out against Zambia on 4 May sporting Mukuru’s branding on the beloved national jersey for the first time.

The Sables are admired in Zimbabwe and around the continent, known for their attacking style of play, technical acuity and sportsmanship. The team, blessed with talent and a rejuvenated system, is confident of its prospects of qualifying for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Mukuru, which has over 16-million customers in 50 countries, can trace its roots back to Zimbabwe, which remains a crucial and important market for the multinational fintech.

Brandon Mncube, Chief Marketing Officer at Mukuru, says the sponsorship of the Sables made sense as the team displays the same passion and love for the country as Mukuru. “We are incredibly excited to be sponsoring Zimbabwe’s national rugby team. The Sables are eyeing World Cup qualification and with their revitalised systems in place and the formidable talent at their disposal, we wanted to give them the best possible chance of living up to their potential,” he says.

“The Sables embody the same passion that has seen Mukuru grow exponentially across the continent. Just as we are passionately driven to provide relevant and competitive financial services products that delight our customers in Zimbabwe and abroad, one gets a real sense of the confidence in this team – all the way down from administrators, to the coaches and of course, the players. Mukuru is backing the Sables to achieve their goal.”

Rugby fans have a great season of excitement in store, as the Sables are set to take on formidable opponents such Zambia, Uganda and the Netherlands over the next few months.

Commenting on the team’s new sponsorship, Sables Head Coach Pieter Benade had the following to say: “We are delighted that a financial company as big as Mukuru recognised our commitment and passion to deliver the kind of rugby success that Zimbabweans deserve. Their sponsorship will go a long way towards enabling our journey to achieve our goal of 2027 World Cup qualification.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Mukuru.

About Mukuru: 
Mukuru is a leading next generation financial services platform in Southern Africa that offers affordable and reliable financial services to a customer base of over 16 million+  across Africa, Asia and Europe.
With over 100 million transactions to date, our core was built providing international money transfers and from this base, we’ve developed a set of services to address the broader financial needs of our customers. We now operate in over 60 countries and across over 500 remittance corridors.
We are a business that puts the customer at the centre of everything we do, and for that reason, we serve clients across physical and digital channels, by various payment methods (cash, card, wallet) as well as a range of engagement platforms including WhatsApp, USSD, contact centre, App, website, agents and a branch and booth network.
Mukuru has, for the fifth consecutive year, been listed as one of the top 100 Cross Border Payments businesses in the world in the 2024 FXC Intelligence Top 100 Cross-Border Payment Companies, one of only six African companies to receive this accolade.
In 2023, Mukuru officially ranked sixth on the LinkedIn Top Companies List in South Africa.
Mukuru was celebrated for innovation and excellence at the 2023 Africa Tech Festival Awards, receiving the Fintech Innovation of the Year Award – an acknowledgment of the transformative power of financial technology in driving economic growth, financial inclusion, and digital transformation.
Further information can be found at https://www.Mukuru.com.

Energy data and intelligence company TGS has joined the African Energy Week (AEW) (www.AECWeek.com): Invest in African Energy 2024 conference and exhibition – taking place from 4 – 8 November in Cape Town – as a bronze sponsor.

Dedicated to fostering fresh investments and facilitating the growth of the African market through innovative data solutions and intelligence, TGS’ sponsorship underscores the event’s significance in leading Africa’s energy renaissance.

AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.

TGS initiated a multi-client 3D survey (https://apo-opa.co/3wsDCse) for the Awele South basin, covering an area of 5,900 km offshore Nigeria in August 2023. The survey aims to provide insights into the untapped potential of the Niger Delta Basin, aiding Nigeria and its partners in strategizing mechanisms to unlock prospects, mitigate risks in drilling, attract funding, and enhance production. At the conference, TGS is anticipated to discuss such developments, along with its contributions to the sustainable growth of Africa’s oil and gas markets.

The company conducted a 2D seismic survey in the Mauritania-Senegal-Gambia-Bissau-Conakry (MSGBC) basin offshore Mauritania (https://apo-opa.co/3UwezwK) in 2021 to help the country build upon discoveries such as bp’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim. Additionally, the data analytics firm completed a 3D seismic survey offshore Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau in 2020, covering over 28,000 km2 of data. TGS also conducted a separate 3D seismic survey offshore The Gambia, covering 4,770 square km, in support of the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy’s future licensing round.

As hydrocarbon-rich African countries intensify upstream activities to achieve energy security, industrialization, and GDP growth targets, TGS positions itself as a reliable intelligence partner. The company holds 2D seismic data for Angola’s entire Kwanza Basin (https://apo-opa.co/3UlTWmB), comprising eight of the 12 onshore blocks awarded in January 2024 as part of the 2023 Tender for 12 onshore blocks. The data is crucial in guiding explorers in drilling endeavors.

In Namibia, TGS offers over 50,000-line km of multi-client 2D seismic data offshore and over 97,500 km of regional 2D data across the hydrocarbon-rich Orange Basin. Similarly, in South Africa, the firm’s seismic surveys in the Orange, Outeniqua, and Durban basins play a pivotal role in driving ongoing and future upstream activities.

During AEW: Invest in African Energy, TGS will participate in high-level panel discussions showcasing Africa’s oil and gas prospects, engaging with African energy policymakers and stakeholders to unlock the continent’s untapped potential.

“TGS has shaped the growth of Africa’s hydrocarbon industry with its seismic and geology interpretation services and innovative products. The company’s services will be crucial for Africa to attract fresh oil and gas exploration investments crucial to meet growing energy needs for industrialization and energy access,” stated NJ Ayuk, the Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

Director of Project and Asset-Based Finance for the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Helen Aigbe Brume, will discuss financing Africa’s energy growth at the Invest in African Energy (IAE) forum in Paris.

Committed to financing and promoting intra- and extra- African trade, Afreximbank plays a leading role in developing African energy projects that target industrialization and economic development. In Angola, the multilateral financial institution is investing in the Cabinda oil refinery, set to double the country’s refining capacity upon completion and reduce reliance on and associated emissions from imported refined petroleum products. In Nigeria, Afreximbank is developing the country’s first indigenous floating LNG facility with UTM Offshore, as well as a $60-million gas processing facility with Alphaden Energy&Oilfield, with a view to unlocking gas resources for Africa’s enhanced energy security.

IAE 2024 is an exclusive forum designed to foster collaboration between European investors and African energy markets. Taking place May 14-15, 2024, in Paris, the event offers delegates two days of intensive engagement with industry experts, project developers, investors, and policymakers. For more information, please visit www.Invest-Africa-Energy.com.

As Africa’s traditional sources of capital reduce their fossil fuel lending, Brume is expected to speak on strategies for navigating shifting investor priorities, while fast-tracking development of Africa’s energy system and fostering cooperation among African and global energy industry stakeholders. Set to launch later this year, the Africa Energy Bank – a collaboration between Afreximbank and the African Petroleum Producers Organization – aims to improve energy access by providing financing to new and existing oil and gas projects across the continent.

“As one of the leading sources of financing in the sector, Afreximbank has the knowledge, experience and best practices when it comes to catalyzing energy finance in the face of tightening capital. We look forward to Afreximbank leading discussions at the upcoming forum around capital creation, improved access to financing, particularly for SMEs, and Africa’s long-term energy growth prospects,” says Sandra Jeque, Event&Project Director of IAE 2024.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.

Sebastião Gaspar Martins, CEO of Angola’s national oil company (NOC) Sonangol, will participate as a speaker at African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy 2024 event in Cape Town from November 4-8. This comes as the country seeks to attain energy security, affordability and reliability on the back of accelerated oil and gas development. The NOC will also serve as a sponsor for this year’s event.

Ahead of AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024, the parastatal continues to actively promote Angola’s hydrocarbon industry, along with the country’s national concessionaire National Agency of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG), with a view to stabilizing production above 1.1 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) and increasing its share of operated crude oil and natural gas production from two to 10% by 2027.

AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and governments and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.

In September 2023, Sonangol spudded the Tobias-13 well as part of drilling and evaluation work in Block KON11 in the onshore Kwanza Basin, aiming to fast-track a potential discovery into development. Meanwhile, Angola has seen an uptick in exploration and production activities, with the ANPG finalizing production sharing negotiations from its latest 12-block tender and is set to launch its next oil and gas licensing round in 2025.

Leading international oil companies operating in the country, including TotalEnergies, continue to drive exploration and production activities. In Block 17, the supermajor is working towards first production at the CLOV Phase 3 project, consisting of a five-well expansion set to increase production by 30,000 bpd. TotalEnergies is also developing the offshore Cameia and Golfhino fields, as well as anticipating first production from the offshore Begonia oil field later this year, adding another 30,000 bpd to the country’s output.

Poised to diversify gas-based industries and serve as an intermediary fuel in the energy transition, natural gas in Angola has risen to the forefront of the country’s agenda. In December 2023, Sonangol inaugurated its Falcão Phase 2 gas project, effectively delivering gas from the Angola LNG plant to the Soyo 1 combined-cycle power plant. The project has served to boost the plant’s processing capacity to 125 million cubic feet while enabling gas distribution to industry and petrochemical plants across the southern region of the country.

With the first phase of the 60,000-bpd Cabinda Refinery set to start production this year – while production of the 200,000-bpd Lobito and 100,000-bpd Soyo refineries are also underway – Angola is well positioned to advance its downstream sector. Additionally, completion of the Barra Do Dande Ocean Terminal is on track for July 2024, supporting the country’s oil industry while contributing to the government’s stated goal of locally processed oil meeting up to 10% of domestic fuel demand.

“Sonangol truly represents an integrated energy company of the future. From operating as an NOC, the company has gradually transformed itself into a competitive energy player and continues to make great strides towards unlocking the true potential of Angola’s energy resources. Sonangol has shown how NOCs can be used to drive large-scale development, mobilize sizeable investments and usher in a new era of sustainable energy projects in Africa,” states African Energy Chamber Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk.

AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024 serves as a nexus for global leaders, stakeholders, governments and energy companies to converge, discussing Africa’s burgeoning projects, strengthening partnerships and finalizing new deals. With its comprehensive program, the conference will showcase Africa’s diverse energy industry, providing invaluable insights and opportunities for all participants. For more information about how you can get involved, visit www.AECWeek.com.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.