Peters named FIN 2018 African Icon of the Year

International business leader and founder of Aiteo Group (www.AiteoGroup.com), Benedict Peters was awarded African Icon of the Year at the Foreign Investment Network (FIN) and Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources Honorary Patrons Dinner and Awards Night which held at the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit, Abuja on January 28, 2019.

The award is an acknowledgement of his significant contribution to oil and gas development in Africa, his visionary leadership, distinguished service and transformational disruption of a sector dominated by international oil companies.

The Aiteo Group’s 20 year evolution through Africa’s oil and gas sector has been exemplary as well as revolutionary – going from a downstream start-up to becoming a leading integrated energy conglomerate with strategic investments in hydrocarbon (or commodities) exploration and production.

Speaking at the ceremony, Michael Dragoyevich, CEO, FIN, said that “Mr Peters has earned a unique honour to stand out among his peers as winner of the coveted FIN African Icon of the Year Award.”

Dedicating the award to all Aiteo employees worldwide, Peters said, “The award by FIN as its African Icon of the Year is awe-inspiring. It’s an honour to receive this type of recognition. Our modest efforts to provide Africa’s market places with top-quality energy solutions while being a reference point for indigenous capacity in oil and gas have clearly paid off, and we are proud of the fact that we continue to receive such prestigious distinctions.”

Peters ventured into the oil and gas sector as an entrepreneur in 1999 and initially traded mainly in the downstream sector. In 2015, his company, Aiteo won the bid for the largest onshore oil block in sub-Saharan Africa.

Beyond oil, his group has investments in mining, agriculture, infrastructure development, electricity generation and distribution.