Tonye Cole is a Nigerian billionaire and CEO of Sahara Energy. He serves as a board member for Atlas Mara, Bloomberg TV Africa, Enactus Nigeria, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping and Digital Jewels. Tonye Cole is also an active member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Advisory Council for Energy, member, World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) amongst others.

The vibrant businessman manages Sahara Energy Resource Limited which he co-founded with his friends Tope Shonubi and Ade Odunsi in 1996.

Sahara Energy started out as an oil and gas company whose main business was the trading of excess fuel oil from the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

Sahara Energy went on to diversify into storage depot and vessel ownership. He built depots in Lagos, Onne and Abuja with a combined capacity of 55,000 metric tonnes and a fleet of five vessels moving products across West Africa.

Today, Sahara Energy is a major employer of labour with an estimated staff strength of over 400 people, upstream assets comprising of nine blocks, 87 one deep water block in Ghana and deeply in developing the domestic gas infrastructure.