Ardova Plc, one of leading Nigerian integrated energy companies, has said that its 20,000 metric tonnes liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage facility at Ijora will be operational by 2023.
Olumide Adeosun, CEO, Ardova Plc, made this known at the company’s 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) held Tuesday, September 27, 2022, in Lagos.
He said: “The LPG storage facility will account for about 25 percent of cooking gas storage of the country.
“It is true that it is the largest consolidated LPG storage facility in West Africa for the moment,” he said. “We will be able to bring very commercial quantities of LPG into the country.”
He said the development reiterates the company’s drive and the country’s goal toward cleaner energy.
“It can only portend well for a future that sees us moving towards full adoption of LPG as the preferred cooking fuel for all the benefits that it delivers over biofuels, firewood, among others.”
Also, the CEO said Ijora as choice of location for the facility is only strategic to what it wants to achieve.
“The location Ijora is quite special because geographically it is the most advantageous location for evacuation of products,” he said. “We chose that location was not by accident.”
Ijora is a small district in the state of Lagos. The area was originally swampy and water-logged before the reclamation of land and further reconstruction to make it the Ijora of today, which is now an industrial estate.
It is a centre axis linking different road networks with many industrial establishments.
“Where we are today, the procurement (funds that were raised and the procurement process) is complete and all major items that need to be procured have been paid for,” said Adeosun.
He further said that the facility is going through assembling as all the needed materials and documents have been bought and finalised.
“In terms of completion today, we are just above 39 percent,” the CEO said.
Read also: Ardova maximises 450 retail outlets in Shell lubricants deals
Experts outline ways techpreneurs can create customer-driven products
For any tech entrepreneur to survive in Nigeria and Africa at large, they must create products and solutions that address the needs of the customers, Ifeanyi Nwoke, Head of Customer Success Team, Clickafix, has said.
Speaking alongside other experts at the monthly webinar series by Clickafix, Nwoke said it is critical for tech entrepreneurs to understand the pain points of their prospective customers and create solutions that address such pains.
According to him, tech products cannot survive on the feelings of the founders but on robust market research that identifies latent and obvious needs of the customers.
He added that confronting real-life problems in Africa with digitally enabled solutions requires ingenuity and a deep understanding of the peculiarities of each environment.
Another speaker at the seminar, Zion Thompson, said common issues with startups are the inability to find product market fit and founders’ market fit.
He said: “Most founders only have ideas but lack understanding of the market before sourcing funds for the idea.
“It is important for founders to step outside of their idea and wear the customers’ shoes to be sure the problem they intend to solve truly exists,” he said. “It is also necessary for startups to find unique solutions if they must run on existing products and not just replicate existing products without adding anything extra.”
Thompson further said the problems to solve or the solutions being provided don’t have to be complex but must be user-oriented and user-friendly.
On the other hand, Nwoke said Clickafix is solving the problem of not having easy access to trusted and skilled artisans to get faults fixed at homes and offices by being a one-stop shop for home service repairs such as plumbing, carpentry, electrical, and technicians for air conditioning, refrigerators, generators, and other home appliances.
He added that Clickafix also provides home cleaning and fumigation services.
The Customer Success expert said Clickafix, which currently operates in Lagos, offers choices and convenience for customers who only need to download the app and register their details to get access to hundreds of tested and trusted artisans around them, and they can choose their preferred artisans based on ratings and whatever suits them.
He further explained that Clickafix is also helping artisans to grow their businesses by providing them access to customers and transforming the informal sector into a formal sector.
