Partnership targets barriers limiting women’s access to financing, business opportunities and leadership positions in Nigeria’s energy sector.
By Chioma Vivian James
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) are exploring a strategic partnership to expand women’s participation in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, with particular emphasis on access to finance, business opportunities and leadership positions.
The proposed collaboration seeks to improve access to the $40 million Women in Oil and Gas Fund, ensuring that more women-owned and women-led enterprises, as well as female professionals, benefit from opportunities across the industry’s value chain.
The initiative was discussed on Thursday when the UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ms. Beatrice Eyong, led a delegation to the NCDMB liaison office in Abuja.
The delegation was received by the Board’s General Manager of Corporate Communications, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, who represented the Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe.
Discussions focused on possible areas of collaboration, including capacity-building programmes to strengthen the integration of gender considerations into NCDMB’s project planning, budgeting and implementation processes.
Both organisations also examined strategies for developing women-owned businesses through vendor development programmes, increased awareness of financing opportunities and possible affirmative procurement measures to promote the participation of women-led companies in the oil and gas value chain.
The $40 million Women in Oil and Gas Fund was established in April 2021, following NCDMB’s initial commitment of $20 million to support women-owned and women-led businesses in the industry. The Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) subsequently provided a matching contribution of another $20 million, bringing the total facility to $40 million.
However, despite the substantial financial commitment and favourable loan conditions, utilisation of the facility has remained below expectations, raising questions about the barriers preventing eligible women entrepreneurs from accessing the funds.
Eyong commended NCDMB for its existing gender inclusion initiatives but stressed the need to identify and address the obstacles limiting women’s access to available opportunities.
She proposed a comprehensive study to establish the reasons for the low uptake of the fund, particularly challenges associated with documentation, business registration, tax compliance and inadequate awareness of the financing facility.
According to her, identifying these constraints would enable both organisations to develop targeted interventions capable of improving women’s access to finance and business opportunities in the sector.
The UN Women representative also highlighted the organisation’s ongoing programmes in women’s economic empowerment, leadership development and the elimination of gender-based violence.
In his response, Ezeobi welcomed the proposed partnership and reaffirmed NCDMB’s commitment to working with UN Women to advance gender inclusion and create more opportunities for women across the industry.
He highlighted the Board’s existing interventions, including its partnership with NEXIM Bank to establish a dedicated financing scheme through which women-owned and women-led businesses can access loans at a competitive interest rate of five per cent.
Ezeobi also disclosed that NCDMB had established a Diversity Sectoral Working Group under the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF) to ensure that women’s concerns are reflected in local content policies and industry decision-making.
He explained that the Board supports associations of women operating across the energy industry’s value chain, providing platforms for networking, confidence-building and the development of professional and business relationships.
According to him, NCDMB has equally invested in capacity-building programmes for women entrepreneurs and business leaders, with training covering business sustainability, corporate governance and strategic management.
He added that the Board was promoting women’s participation in technical occupations while encouraging young girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
However, the NCDMB spokesman acknowledged that women remain underrepresented in the oil and gas industry, identifying limited access to technical education, financing and commercial opportunities, as well as longstanding perceptions of the sector as predominantly male-dominated, as major contributing factors.
He reaffirmed the Board’s readiness to collaborate with UN Women in addressing these challenges and strengthening support for programmes that promote women’s participation in the industry.
The proposed partnership is expected to build on existing interventions by tackling barriers to financing, strengthening the capacity of women-owned enterprises and creating a more inclusive business environment.
Beyond improving access to the $40 million financing facility, the collaboration could provide a broader platform for women to establish businesses, compete for industry contracts, develop technical expertise and assume leadership positions in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
