Salma Okonkwo

Chairwoman, UBI Group | Founder, Blue Power Energy

An alumnus of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, Salma Okonkwo, after spending a decade in the US, returned to her native country to contribute her fair share to national development. After returning to Ghana in 2003, Salma became the first female CEO in Ghana’s energy sector at Sahara Energy. She established the UBI Group in 2008 to close the energy supply gap in Northern Ghana by trading diesel and petroleum wholesale and operating retail gas stations. In 2013, Puma Energy acquired a 49% stake in two of UBI’s Group’s subsidiaries, a business move that reinforced her reputation as a formidable business strategist.

UBI was the first indigenous company to support the oil industry’s upstream sector. For Salma, business is about the big picture. Salma Okonkwo founded Blue Power Energy, an alternative energy conglomerate developing on-grid and off-grid solar farm projects across the West African sub-region. Blue Power is currently developing a $200 million 100MW solar project in Ghana. Outside of her work in energy, Salma runs Mother’s Heart Foundation, a charitable organization that provides accommodation, clothing, food, healthcare, and education for its beneficiaries.