The co-founder of Sahara Group, Tonye Cole, has revealed how he and his partners created a foreign identity for their company in its early days to overcome what he described as the “colonial mentality” that made it difficult for young Nigerian entrepreneurs to gain recognition in the oil and gas industry.
Cole disclosed that Sahara was registered abroad in the Isle of Man and presented as an expatriate company, with a fictitious British figure known as “Dr J” introduced as the face of the business, to gain access to opportunities that would have been difficult for a young Nigerian-owned firm.
The businessman, who spoke during an interview on the Afropolitan podcast published on Wednesday, said the strategy was born out of the reality that many industry players believed foreign companies were more capable than local businesses.
Cole said, “What I remember about back then was that there was what you
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