Yemisi Izuora
As Africa grapples with widening energy access gaps and heightened global supply volatility, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is emerging as the continent’s most immediate and scalable bridge to clean, reliable, and secure energy, Wale Ajibade, Executive Director, Sahara Group has said.
This position took centre stage at the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARDA) 2026 Leadership Side Chat and Roundtable, where Sahara Group made a compelling case for LPG as a practical transition fuel uniquely suited to Africa’s development realities.
“Africa’s transition must be built around solutions that work now,” Ajibade said. “LPG is not an interim compromise, it is the fastest bridge to energy access, resilience and shared prosperity for Africa.”
He said recent global supply disruptions have laid bare Africa’s exposure to external shocks, citing the impact of the crisis at the Strait of Hormuz which pushed Brent crude prices above $110 per barrel, severely affecting LPG and LNG flows to Africa.
“For African economies, the lesson is clear: energy resilience is built through infrastructure that incorporates robust storage, shipping optionality, diversified sourcing and regional coordination. The continent must outgrow its dependency on fragile global routes,” Ajibade said.
He noted that the clean cooking deficit on the continent, where nearly one billion people in sub‑Saharan Africa still lack access to clean cooking solutions can be addressed with “collaborative, harmonised policies, and investment driven continent-wide adoption of LPG.”
This position aligns with ARDA projections that over 60% of future clean cooking access in Africa will be delivered through LPG, which already accounts for 75% of recent clean cooking transitions across the region. In addition, despite accounting for just 4% of global LPG consumption, experts say Africa’s constraint is not demand but delivery systems which can best be driven by solid LPG infrastructure.
He noted that unlocking the next phase of growth for LPG in Africa would require harmonised LPG import duties and cylinder standards, bankable storage and distribution frameworks, targeted household adoption incentives and blended finance models, and data‑driven monitoring of clean cooking progress.
Ajibade said Sahara Group continues to lead Arica’s energy transition debate as an active builder of LPG infrastructure across Africa. “Over the past decade, Sahara Group has pursued a deliberate, integrated LPG strategy spanning trading, shipping, storage and last‑mile distribution. Working alongside its partners, Sahara has delivered over six million cubic metres of LPG across West Africa since 2017, supported by a growing fleet of LPG carriers and expanding storage capacity.”