24 December 2013, Lagos – Oando Marketing Plc has signed an agreement with KFW, a German government owned development bank based in Frankfurt, to invest €5m, about N1billion to further enhance availability of cooking gas to low income earners in the country.
The company said in a recent statement that the agreement was signed in Frankfurt by KFW’s Director of the Department for Africa Regional Programmes, Dr. Thomas Duve and Oando Marketing’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Abayomi Awobokun.
Speaking on the development, Awobokun, said funds invested through the agreement would be made available to select Micro Finance Institutions who would then lend the funds out to end users of cooking gas as well as micro, small and medium sized enterprises for their LPG investments.
Awobokun further stated that it was 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.
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.
Oando had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Association of Microfinance Banks with a view to encouraging mass use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas in the country.
The most significant aspect of the MoU is that the base of the Pyramid consumers, who are usually low income earners, can now own the O-Gas 3-in-1 cylinder.
The agreement was signed by the Chief Executive Officer, Oando Marketing Plc., Mr. Abayomi Awobokun in conjunction with all the partnering micro-finance banks led by the Chairman, NAMBS, Lagos State Chapter, Mr. Valentine Whensu.
“The introduction of the portable 3KG O-Gas cylinder is aimed at addressing both issues of affordability and accessibility to LPG by the low income masses. This integrated offering also suits the purchasing power of this socio-economic group as customers can refill with any amount they can afford per time through the company’s Pay-As-U-Gas metering system or swap the cylinders for an outright refill at N800,” Awobokun said.
Commenting further on the partnership, the Head of Marketing Communications, Oando Marketing Plc., Mr. Seun Soyinka, described the initiative as consistent with the company’s plan to switch millions of Nigerians from the use of biomass to clean, efficient, affordable and sustainable LPG via Oando’s 3kg O-Gas, an integrated offering that comes with a cylinder, burner and gas.
According to him, the O-Gas cooking stoves are directly available to end-users via the company’s existing vast network of over 500 retail stations and a growing network of authorised distributors.
– This Day