Aberdeenshire-based senior business analyst George Okoroma has partnered with the Scottish Africa Business Association (SABA) to lead a high-level trade delegation of West African energy professionals to Scotland. Scheduled to run from September 1 to 4, 2026, the four-day trade mission is timed to align with the Energy Exports Conference in Aberdeen. The business network focuses on creating direct avenues for investment, cross-border technology transfer, and commercial partnerships between Scottish energy firms and West African market actors.
The bilateral trade program introduces structured changes to regional energy networking:
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Eliminating Friction with Pre-Qualified B2B Matchmaking: SABA Chief Executive Officer Frazer Lang stated that international trade missions frequently lose momentum by relying on chance encounters. To prevent this, the 2026 itinerary uses a pre-qualified matching process. Every corporate introduction is vetted before arrival, ensuring that visiting West African executives meet exclusively with Scottish firms whose operational capacities align with their technical requirements.
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Aligning Hydrocarbon Optimization with Energy Transition: The trade platform targets the dual needs of West African energy markets: maximizing current deepwater oil and gas assets while scaling up clean energy infrastructure. The technical sessions will focus on subsea engineering, well intervention, offshore wind integration, green hydrogen production, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). These fields match Scotland’s established industrial base with West Africa’s shifting regulatory focus.
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Providing Long-Term Corporate Representation: Beyond the four-day event, Okoroma—who serves as Senior Business Design and Analysis Lead at NatWest Group and collaborates with FIDIC Africa—will provide ongoing business development and corporate representation services. This continuous support offers West African energy firms a dedicated landing pad in Aberdeen, helping them build permanent cross-border alliances, source equipment, and navigate North Sea engineering standards.
