Tullow Ghana Limited, in partnership with Accenture, held a graduation and awards ceremony on Wednesday 19th July 2023 to recognise and honour successful participants of the Tullow Supply Chain Academy Programme.

Seventy-four (74) companies and eleven (11) individuals were awarded Certificates of Achievement upon successfully completing a 50-hour target mark for graduation. Five outstanding awards went to five (5) companies: Arthro Senergeio, Petroleum Commission- Ghana, Africa World Airlines Limited, Sea Serve Ghana Limited and Owusu-Ankomah, Arvoh Mensah, Dzigba & Associates.

In her opening remarks, Cynthia Lumor, Deputy Managing Director of Tullow Ghana, emphasised Tullow’s commitment to ensuring local supplier development in the oil and gas industry through the various supplier development programmes. She said, “One of the primary goals of our local content strategy is to build local capacity and develop successful suppliers that can deliver a wide range of goods, services, and skills to international standards. Supplier development has therefore been an effective means by which we have consistently increased Indigenous participation in our operations.”

She congratulated all participants on the record time with which they completed the course and recounted how Tullow’s supplier development initiatives, since inception in 2010, have improved the quality and quantity of local businesses' bid submissions and contracting.

Tullow has over the years set up different local content initiatives to equip indigenous suppliers with the requisite international standard skills in the upstream oil and gas industry in Ghana.

A representative from Accenture, Shiksha Benimadho, recognised the efforts being made by Tullow Ghana and the Petroleum Commission to deliver effective supplier development programmes. She commended the zeal and determination demonstrated by all participants during the course, saying, “In times of economic downtime, you are out there making waves and being part of the solution. Keep your final goal and destination in mind and your road path will always be different. Celebrate your wins no matter how big or small they are.”

She concluded by commending the Tullow team for investing in creating sustainable livelihoods and for building local capacity in its supply chain system.

Since the inception of its operations in Ghana, Tullow Ghana has always held the belief that the energy sector can be a key driver of the economy and an engine for job creation, and this has been one of the driving forces behind Tullow Ghana’s continuous investment and capacity development in Ghana.

Tullow Supply Chain Academy was launched in April 2022. The Academy provides a 12-month customised training programme for indigenous companies. The programmes are delivered with support from the industry network, academic experts, and Accenture as the implementing partner. Participants undergo training in five curriculum pillars comprising finance, supply chain, digitalization, cyber, and power skills. The first cohort of 90 participants was made up of 11 employees of the Petroleum Commission, 30 companies nominated by the Petroleum Commission and 49 from indigenous companies that are part of Tullow’s supplier base.

Tullow also recently delivered two innovative supplier development initiatives last year– in June 2022 and November 2022 –where Tullow Ghana concluded a 10-month-long Supplier Finance Readiness Programme and a 6-month-long Tullow Supplier Mentorship Programme respectively.

Supplier Finance Readiness Programme implemented by Invest In African (IIA), was designed to provide selected suppliers impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic with financial and business advisory support to build financial resilient and sustainable businesses for the future. A total of one hundred and fifty-one (151) suppliers gained knowledge of various funding options as well as insights into financial restructuring opportunities. Thirty-six (36) businesses received one-on-one business advisory services. Tullow Supplier Mentorship Programme was held in collaboration with Accenture. The program provided customised mentorship support to 100 local companies and individuals. Both programmes achieved a record of 97% completion rate.

These initiatives demonstrate Tullow Ghana’s commitment to growing and partnering with key stakeholders to develop local capacity in the oil and gas sector through tailored training programmes and engagements.