Sahara Group, an international energy and infrastructure conglomerate, unveiled its community impact project, tagged ‘SCIP’, on Wednesday.
During the unveiling at the Sahara Group head office in Lagos, the Director of the Sahara Group Foundation, Chidilim Menakaya, said the Sahara Community Impact Project is designed to establish business hubs within local communities by leveraging their niche areas and unique economic strengths.
According to Menakaya, the project is one of the Sahara Group Foundation’s initiatives to impact society and give back to the people.
“We’re a global organisation. So, all our businesses across the globe also deliver what we call PCSR projects—Personal Social Corporate Responsibility Projects. And the reason why we do this is to continue to serve the communities that we operate in,” she said.
The director stated that the idea is to build sustainable communities through what she called ‘extrapreneurship’.
Menakaya disclosed that the foundation would “identify the businesses communities are known for and build business hubs in those communities to make sure the businesses succeed and become sustainable.”
According to her, the project will enable individuals and groups to expand their economic capacity beyond traditional opportunities. Communities with strong but under-supported economic activities, such as fishing, cassava processing, water hyacinth crafts and other local value chains, will be the first beneficiaries.
Menakaya said the hubs would offer a combination of capacity building, access to markets, improved production methods and financial linkages.
“We want to create a pipeline of entrepreneurs who can scale, stay within our network and build intergenerational businesses. Whether it is smoked fish, fish powder, tapioca or water hyacinth crafts, we want to ensure the products meet quality standards, remain competitive, and are produced sustainably,” she noted.
She added that the foundation would introduce modern tools and safer production techniques, including solar-powered cold rooms, dehydrators, cleaner fish-smoking stoves, mechanised cassava processing, and improved life jackets for fishing communities.
“We will tackle food waste by converting spoilt products into manure, which farmers can use. We want to strengthen the entire value chain,” she stated.
The foundation announced that the SCIP project will be launched in January 2026, alongside nomination and screening in February. It will involve community sensitisation and impact assessment, among other activities.
It was added that the hubs will be co-managed with local residents to ensure long-term ownership and sustainability.
“Once you provide resources to communities, they need to take ownership for the project to work. So we will train and empower them to operate and maintain the hubs,” she said.
Menakaya emphasised that the foundation would maintain strict monitoring and evaluation to prevent misuse by local power brokers.
“We have to ensure transparency so the hub doesn’t end up in the hands of a select few. Every qualified community member must have access. We do not launch projects and walk away. We stay to ensure they deliver meaningful impact,” she stressed.
According to the Sahara Group Foundation, the first set of hubs will be unveiled after the assessment phase is completed, with full-scale operations expected to commence shortly after.
The Head of Corporate Communications at Sahara Group, Bethel Obioma, said the project is about transforming communities. Obioma stressed that the SCIP initiative is not for the cities but for rural communities in need of development, adding that the development of these communities will have a spillover effect on the cities and the nation at large.
