IN the heart of Nigeria’s vibrant business landscape, PANA Holdings stands as a beacon of integrity, unwavering in its commitment to ethical excellence. With steadfast dedication to transparency, accountability and fairness. It has cultivated a culture that not only prioritizes trust but embodies it.
PANA Holdings began with a simple yet profound promise to conduct business with the utmost honesty, fostering relationships built on mutual trust and an unwavering reliability. As it navigates the complexities of Nigeria’s dynamic market, its integrity remains the cornerstone of its operations, guiding every decision, every action and every interaction.
Recognized by The Guardian one as of the integrity-driven firms in Nigeria, the Chairman/GCEO of PANA Holdings, MR DAERE AKUBO, talks about growth of the holdings, some major economic challenges affecting businesses in Nigeria and the successes recorded in the group.
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Mission And Vision Of PANA Holdings
PANA Holdings is a group of companies underpinned by the commitment to drive sustainable growth globally, loyal to our ethical principles and regulatory compliance. We deploy innovative solutions across a variety of sectors including oil and gas, power, mining, critical infrastructure, finance and more, with sustainability and digital transformation as key parameters.
Our portfolio companies start with P E Energy Ltd which was established in 2009 and has strong focus in oil and gas services, providing end-to-end solutions in flow drives, flow control, flow measurement and process pipeline service as well as supply chain management. Following the commissioning of our state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence in Port Harcourt, we were positioned to address complete assembling, testing, overhaul, maintenance and recertification operations for the first time in Nigeria, across all our offerings.
As the company grows, we decided it was optimal to separate the upstream exploration and production activities from the energy services of PE Energy Ltd, which led to the incorporation of Synergy P&E Limited, followed by the establishment of AKD Digital Solutions Limited, with focus on Automation, Digitalization and Telecommunication.
PANA Infrastructure is our latest entity, which has entered a strategic, partnership with SIEMENS to modernize and expand our country’s power infrastructure. Our vision is to become the reference platform across Sub-Saharan Africa, across our extended list of offerings. Our mission is to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions through global linkages and partnerships, which are consistent with our core values.
Integrity-Driven Operations
First, I would like to say that from day 1, our auditor has been PWC. As a company, we have clearly defined values, a code of conduct, and ethical guidelines, because we believe they are fundamental to the success of business and decision-making. These are well established in our ethical framework. Secondly, we operate an open and honest communication policy to foster trust and accountability. We ensure all our employees are TRACE certified and go through regular training in business ethics and compliance. Let me also mention, we have repeatedly received a precision award from FIRS for our transparency and compliance.
Also, as an ISO 9001: QMS certified company, we do what we document and document what we do. We are proud to be driven by an excellent management system and governance structure: all our business transactions and ventures are driven by what we call the 5P Maxim: First is the purpose of sustainability. – focusing on long term value creation and environmental responsibility.
The second P is “Philosophy, Process And Technology” – Utilizing efficient systems and innovation for sustainable growth. The third P is “People and Talent” – because building strong terms and collaborative relationships is key for us. The fourth P is “Product and Solution” that we present to the market and the last P is the end goal, i.e. Profit and Prosperity for all stakeholders, shareholders and employees.
Core Values Of PANA Holdings
Next to the 5Ps operating maxim which I mentioned earlier, our ethical code underscores PANA Holdings’ commitment to integrity, sustainability, and excellence. Our core values drive our culture and are embodied in the 3C’s and 3T’s principles. The 3Cs stand for “Character, Capacity and Commitment” and the 3T’s correspond to “Time, Transparency, and Trust”.
These form the foundation of our operations, and the guiding principles in all our ventures, collaborations and recruitment process.
Uniqueness Of PANA Holdings In The Oil And Gas Industry
Our organization stands out in the Nigerian oil and gas industry through our comprehensive presence across various segment of the value chain, offering a broader scope of operations than many specialized companies. Central to our success is our 5 P’s operating maxim with a particular emphasis on “People and Talent”. This reflects our strong commitment to local development and collaboration ensuring that we harness and nurture local expertise to drive operations forward.
As a strategic global linkage, we play very important role in bridging the gap between oil and gas players and the Nigerian market. This unique positioning allows us to facilitate the transfer of advance technologies and global best practices while fostering significant capacity building within the local industry.
Contributions To Local Content Initiatives
Our contributions to local content initiatives are multifaceted and deeply impactful. We have been at the forefront of job creation, offering numerous opportunities for Nigerian professional across all levels of our operations. This is complimented by our extensive capacity building programs, driven by our PANA Academy, which equips local talent with the skills and knowledge required to excel in the oil and gas sector.
We are also committed to supply chain localization, actively supporting and developing local suppliers and contractors to meet industry standards and thrive within the global marketplace. Furthermore, our focus on technology transfer ensures that Nigerians firms and professionals are not just participants but leaders in the industry’s technological advancements.
A key testament to our dedication to elevating local content is our multi-million-dollar investment in the Centre of Excellence – our industrial hub designed to bring local content to the next level. This facility hosts the assembly valves, metering and pump skids, controls panels, and the execution of Factory Acceptance Test (FAT), HIPPS overhaul and recertification and various other high-level services.
This investment not only boosts local capabilities but also positions Nigeria as a critical player in the global oil and gas industry.
Major Challenges Affecting Business Growth And Expansion
One thing is inescapably true and that is, business in dynamic environments like Nigeria is expected to face a multitude of challenges, ranging from political, economic, social, technological and environmental and legal. Nigeria’s Political landscape is dynamic, which policy changes and regulatory shifts, and government interventions has often affected business operations… especially around election period, with disruptions. Beyond currency volatility and inflation issues that make financial planning quite difficult business must navigate a complex economic environment characterized by slow GDP growth, high unemployment rates, and limited access to finance. These have stifled business expansion and constricted market opportunities.
Again, social issues, like high poverty levels, inadequate education systems that do not address our national problems, lack skilled labour, pose major barriers to business growth in this country. Businesses often struggled to find the talent needed to drive innovation and expansion. On the technology side, there are opportunities, many Nigerians face challenges in adopting and integrating new technologies due to infrastructure deficit, high cost, and poor technical know-how. It hinders competitiveness and growth in our rapidly digitizing global market, and this is one of the major gaps that we are positioned to bridge.
Today, climate change impact is threatening the world and the business eco-system, we now have to navigate stringent environmental regulations and invest in sustainable practices, which is good, but costly require significant changes to existing operations. Again, as a business, “sustainability” is one thing that we have put at the forefront of our entire portfolios to support in other businesses and countries where we operate to decarbonize.
We have promoted this through products and solutions, ranging multiphase pump technology, for flare gas reductions to continuous and fugitive emission monitoring from pipeline leak detection to flare gas commercialization projects, waste heat recovery, electricity grid decarbonization, energy efficiency buildings, solar energy systems and storage and many more.
On the legal side, as business, we don’t joke with legal and compliance. We do our business within the ambiance of law, because we know that legal uncertainties can lead to delays, increased cost, and risks that deter business expansion and reputations. And addressing these issues effectively do not only involved internal company strategies, but also collaboration with stakeholders across the public and private sectors to create a more stable and supportive business environment through compliance to legal, policy and regulatory frameworks.
The Journey So far
From day 1, we have been running with the mantra “Grace at Work” and with integrity at the centre of what we do, we have demonstrated resilience and adaptability. From inception we had a global mindset proudly bringing international best practices to the Nigerian business environment and carefully recruiting employees and associates on an international level, leveraging on the different perspectives that people from different cultures and backgrounds bring to our operations. Right now, we have over 150,000 employees from Nigeria, Uganda, UAE, India, Mauritius, Greece, USA, UK etc.
The Future Goals For PANA Holdings
At PANA Holdings, our future goals for portfolio expansion are strategically aligned with the evolving needs of Nigeria’s economy and the global push towards sustainability and digital transformation. We are committed to advancing projects that not only drive business growth but also contribute to the long-term development of critical infrastructure and innovation across key sectors.
As mentioned earlier, we are placing a significant focus on expanding our portfolio in critical infrastructure, particularly in power generation and transmission. These projects are vital for supporting Nigeria’s industrial growth and by investing in advance technologies and sustainable energy solutions, we aim to play a pivotal role in stabilizing and modernizing Nigeria’s power sector.
Another key area of expansion is sustainable urban design and the development of certified green buildings. We are committed to creating environmentally friendly and energy-efficient structures that align with global sustainability goals. These initiatives will not only reduce environmental impact but also set new standards for urban development in Nigeria.
In the financial services sector, we are focusing on the digitalization aspect driving the adoption of cutting-edge technologies to enhance financial inclusion, efficiency, and customer experience. Our commitment to digital transformation extends to other critical sectors as well. We are actively engaged in safety life circle management which ensure for any company a systematic and automatic identification, assessment, and mitigation of risk throughout the entire life circle of a process of system, from design and Implementation to operation and decommissioning, enhancing overall safety and reliability.
This focus on digitalization and process organization is particularly crucial in high-risk industries like oil and gas. In addition, through a seminal partnership with Infosys, we are spearheading digital transformation initiatives within the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. Our goal is to optimize process, enhance operational efficiency, and reduce cost, positioning PANA Holdings as a leader in the digitalization of this critical industry.
In line with our commitment to energy security and sustainability, we are also expanding our exploration projects and gas field development activities both in Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan countries.
Overall, I am happy that together with our strategy planning team, we are working on building a diversified, forward-looking portfolio that addresses critical infrastructure needs, embracing digital transformation, and supports sustainable development across Africa. Through these efforts PANA Holdings aims to remain at the forefront of industry leadership, driving growth and contributing to the nation’s economic and social progress.