Ghanaian businesswoman Salma Okonkwo, 48, is a rare female face in the energy industry and is CEO and Founder of UBI Group.
Amidst the debate on climate change, alternative energy resources, and poverty, Salma Okonkwo is building Ghana’s biggest solar farm—called Blue Power Energy—expected to be opened in March 2019.
In an interview with Forbes, Salma Okonkwo explained that she was born to a family of 14 children in a clan in which women are also active providers for the family economy. After graduating from university in Los Angeles, her career in the energy industry began upon her return to Ghana in 2003 when she was hired by the oil and gas company Sahara Energy Group.
In an interview in 2011, Salma Okonkwo said that her family had had to travel long distances for fuel, and that in the coming five years she wanted to reach every village in Ghana to fulfil their energy needs. Meanwhile she was already dreaming of greener long-term solutions.
“Our purpose is to ensure that every Ghanaian, every village in Ghana, has their required petroleum products. We want to make a difference by being green, and in Ghana we’re the first company to do that,” she said in a video interview with Voices of Ghana.
We think of ourselves as taking our social responsibility seriously.
