News
IIA, Tullow join forces to deliver financial readiness programme for suppliers
Invest in Africa (IIA), a not-for-profit organisation focused on growing local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across sub-Saharan Africa, has been selected by Tullow Ghana Limited to implement its recently launched Financial Readiness programme.
The Financial Readiness programme is an eight-month programme, launched in August 2021, with the goal of assisting suppliers in the oil and gas industry to build financially resilient and sustainable businesses for the future.
IIA will provide selected suppliers with financial tool kits that will enhance their interactions with lending institutions and offer 150 SMEs access to various funding options, as well as insights into financial restructuring opportunities.
Alongside hosting workshops, IIA will offer more tailored, one-to-one business advisory support to Tullow Ghana’s larger suppliers. These will be delivered on the back of a successful track record of similar interventions led by IIA.
Speaking on the potential impact of the programme, IIA Ghana’s Country Director Carol Annang said: “In many ways, the pandemic has reshaped how we conduct business. Its ramifications on financing for Ghanaian SMEs may be felt many years down the line, so even though this programme has a short-term outlook, its overall contribution to these SMEs will be much longer lasting. This is something both IIA and Tullow Ghana can appreciate, given our shared commitment to strengthening local supply chains.”
Wissam Al Monthiry, Managing Director of Tullow Ghana, on his part, said “As a company, the development of local capacity for participation in the oil and gas industry remains our priority. Central to developing local participation, is the ability of our local supply chain to remain financially resilient to continue participating in delivering oil and gas services to our operations. This Financial Readinessprogramme will add to our goal of ensuring a financially stable supplier base that is globally competitive”.
Invest in Africa (IIA) is a private sector-led initiative focused on growing local businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa to deliver positive economic impacts and create jobs, benefitting all stakeholders including governments and multi-national corporations who want to use their local buying power as a force for good.
Launched in Ghana in 2012, IIA now operates in five African countries, with local offices in Ghana, Senegal, Kenya and Mauritania. IIA operates the African Partner Pool (APP), a network of SMEs to which it delivers a programme of business support designed to deliver economic growth and job creation.
To date, IIA Ghana has enabled access to $2.1m of finance, provided 3000+ SMEs with business, technical and entrepreneurship training; and supported with the creation of 39,000+ jobs.
Tullow is an independent oil and gas, exploration and production group which is quoted on the London, Irish and Ghanaian stock exchanges (symbol: TLW) and is a constituent of the FTSE250 index.
The Group has interests in over 40 exploration and production licenses across 11 countries including Ghana where it operates the Jubilee and TEN fields. In March 2021, Tullow committed to becoming Net Zero on its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.
A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour by the Bekwai Circuit Court for his role in a 2022 robbery at a mining site at Manso Akwasiso in the Ashanti South Region.
The convict, Dominic Ofori, also known as Fanta, was arrested on 16th February 2026 after years on the run. He pleaded guilty before the Bekwai Circuit Court to robbery contrary to Section 149 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Act 29, and was accordingly sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour.
On March 20, 2022, the Manso Adubia District Police received intelligence that a group of armed men from Manso Abodom were planning to attack a mining site at Manso Akwasiso to rob the owner of gold concentrate. Acting on the information, police mounted a coordinated operation and laid an ambush at the site.
At about 5:30 pm the same day, four-armed men arrived at the site, fired indiscriminately, and robbed the miners of their gold concentrate. The police team on surveillance intervened, resulting in an exchange of gunfire.
Three of the suspects, Abu Abubakar, Musah Latif, and Gideon Takyi, sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead on arrival at St Martins Catholic Hospital at Agroyesum. Dominic Ofori escaped at the time but was later arrested and put before the court.
The Ashanti South Regional Police Command has assured the public of its continued commitment to combating violent crimes and bringing offenders to justice.
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested 45-year-old Isaac Boafo, also known as “Duabo King,” for allegedly publishing false news intended to cause fear and panic.
Police said the arrest follows a viral TikTok video in which Boafo claimed that four officers at the Central Police Station in Kumasi engaged in inappropriate conduct with commercial sex workers during night patrols in Asafo.
Officers from the Police Intelligence Directorate (Ashanti Region) apprehended Boafo after receiving intelligence about the video.
During questioning, he admitted to creating the video to attract views and engagement online, and acknowledged that he could not prove the allegations.
Boafo also admitted making comments about the President of the Republic for content purposes and could not defend those statements.
He has been formally charged and is in detention as investigations continue.
The Ashanti Regional Police have warned the public against publishing or sharing false information on social media, noting that such acts can cause fear, panic, and damage reputations.
They said anyone found engaging in similar conduct will face legal action.
By: Jacob Aggrey
