West African Energy Takeover: Togo’s Rising Star Swallows Portuguese Giant’s Guinea-Bissau Empire
Togolese energy company Zener International Holding has acquired the assets of Petrogal Guinea-Bissau, previously owned by Portugal’s Galp Energia, after raising CFA13.5 billion to expand operations in the country.
The financing was structured by Ecobank through its subsidiary EDC Investment Corporation, with regional financial institutions including the West African Development Bank contributing CFA5 billion in June 2025.
The acquired assets include petrol stations, strategic fuel and gas depots, and aviation storage facilities across Guinea-Bissau. Jonas Aklesso Daou, president of ZIH, described the takeover as establishing “a long-term foothold in a high-potential market and promoting a vision of locally invested, forward-looking energy.”
Zener previously secured €16.2 million from the International Finance Corporation in 2022 for LPG storage expansion, service station establishment, and energy transition infrastructure improvements.
Source: Energy Capital & Power
