The United Kingdom Oil and Gas Council on Tuesday announce the Executive Director/Founder of the Sahara Group, Tonye Cole, as winner of the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Africa Energy Award.

In announcing the award, the Council said Mr. Cole was recognised for his commitment to the provision of energy across Africa, his business agility and commitment to philanthropy.

As an innovation, thought and business leader, the Council said the Sahara Group boss had, over the last 21 years, built a leading African Power, Energy, Gas and Infrastructure Conglomerate.

Founded in 1996, the Sahara Group has grown from a single entity to a group made up of ten companies across the energy value chain.

The company is presently in eight countries, three continents and employs 3,200 people, with an annual profit of more than $12 billion.

In addition to his commitment to business, Mr. Cole, a member of the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) and the Private Sector Advisory Group of the United Nations Sustainable Development Fund (UNSDG-F), is passionate about giving back.

Besides, Mr. Cole has been dedicated to the establishment of his foundation, the Nehemiah Youth Empowerment Initiative, and serves on the advisory boards of various youth focused charities, such as the Africa 2.0 Foundation and the Sapinda Rainbow Foundation.

The Oil & Gas Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award recognises Mr. Cole’s individual role and the Sahara Group’s corporate role in promoting inclusive economic growth for poverty eradication, capacity building, food security and access to potable water in Africa.

The award will be presented to Mr. Cole at this year’s Africa Energy Awards in Paris on June 13.

The Africa Energy Awards would be an opportunity to recognise the 2017 best performing companies and executives on the African continent as well as those who have achieved excellence, pioneered new frontiers, inspired others throughout their activities and achieved growth in challenging markets, organisers say.