NCDMB, UN Women Move To Unlock $40m Fund for Women In Oil, Gas
For many women-owned businesses in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, access to finance remains a major hurdle, despite the availability of a dedicated $40 million funding facility.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and UN Women are now exploring ways to bridge that gap and enable more women to benefit from opportunities in the sector.
The two organisations are considering joint initiatives to improve women’s access to the Women in Oil and Gas Fund, strengthen their business capacity and increase their participation across the industry’s value chain.
The proposed collaboration was discussed on Thursday when UN Women’s Country Representative to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ms Beatrice Eyong, led a delegation on a visit to the NCDMB liaison office in Abuja.
The delegation was received by the Board’s General Manager of Corporate Communications, Dr Obinna Ezeobi, on behalf of the Executive Secretary, Engr Felix Omatsola Ogbe.
Established in April 2021, the Women in Oil and Gas Fund comprises $20 million provided by NCDMB and an additional $20 million contributed by the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM).
The facility was designed to support women-owned and women-led businesses in the oil and gas sector through loans at a competitive five per cent interest rate.
However, uptake has remained below expectations, raising concerns about the barriers preventing eligible women from accessing the funds.
During the meeting, Eyong proposed a study to identify the challenges limiting women’s access to the facility, including difficulties with documentation, business registration, tax compliance and inadequate awareness of the funding opportunities.
She also commended NCDMB’s existing gender inclusion initiatives and highlighted UN Women’s programmes in women’s economic empowerment, leadership development and the elimination of gender-based violence.
Other areas explored during the discussions included capacity-building programmes for NCDMB personnel to integrate gender considerations into project planning, budgeting and implementation.
The organisations also considered vendor development schemes to prepare women-led businesses for industry opportunities, increased awareness of available financing options and possible affirmative procurement measures to improve the participation of women-owned companies.
Responding, Ezeobi welcomed the proposals and reaffirmed the Board’s readiness to partner with UN Women to advance gender inclusion in the oil and gas industry.
He highlighted NCDMB’s existing interventions, including the establishment of the funding scheme with NEXIM Bank and the creation of a Diversity Sectoral Working Group within the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF) to mainstream women’s concerns into local content policies and decision-making.
He said the Board also supports associations of women across the energy industry value chain, providing platforms for networking, confidence-building and professional development.
According to him, NCDMB has invested in capacity-building programmes for women entrepreneurs and business leaders in areas such as business sustainability, corporate governance and strategic management.
The Board has also supported women’s participation in technical occupations and encouraged young girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Ezeobi, however, acknowledged that women remain underrepresented in the oil and gas industry due to limited access to technical education, finance and commercial opportunities, as well as perceptions that the sector is predominantly male.
He expressed the Board’s willingness to work with UN Women to address these challenges and strengthen support for programmes that will expand women’s economic participation in the industry.
The proposed partnership is expected to focus attention on a critical question: how can existing funding and industry opportunities translate into more women-owned businesses securing contracts, accessing finance and building sustainable enterprises in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector?
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