 The surrounding forest is predominantly made up of Entandrophragma cylindricum or Sapele, which is the kind of tree the city lends its name from.Sapele was one of Africa's largest timber producers.The African Timber and Plywood (AT&P), a factory from a division of the United Africa Company, once reputed to be the largest timber manufacturing complex in the world, in its prime, it was the city's largest employer with an estimated 6000 employees

The Ogorode district of the city houses two of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria power generation plants, one of six majors in the country and the nation's second-largest with an installed capacity of 1000 MW as well as an NIPP power plant.