The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Bank of Industry (BOI) have taken a major step toward expanding indigenous participation in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry with the inauguration of the Investment Committee for the $100 million Nigerian Content Equity Fund (NCEF), a pioneering financing initiative designed to provide long-term capital to oil and gas service companies through equity investments rather than conventional loans.

The Investment Committee was inaugurated on Friday in Lagos by the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, paving the way for the rollout of the innovative financing window under the Nigerian Content Intervention (NCI) Fund.

Unlike existing intervention products that provide debt financing, the Nigerian Content Equity Fund will invest directly in eligible companies in exchange for equity, offering businesses access to patient capital without the repayment pressures associated with traditional lending.

According to the fund’s product paper, the initiative is intended to reduce the per-unit cost of locally produced oil and gas products and services, generate additional income for the NCDMB and play a catalytic role in attracting private investors and lenders to financially viable indigenous companies.

The document stated that by providing equity financing, the fund would enable service companies to expand operations, increase market share and strengthen the growth of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

The fund has a total size of $100 million, with an obligor limit of $5 million per beneficiary. While the NCDMB is providing the capital, the Bank of Industry will manage the fund.

Target beneficiaries include oilfield service companies, manufacturers serving the oil and gas industry, fabrication yards and other connected sectors. The initiative is expected to stimulate economic growth, create wealth and generate an estimated 12,500 direct jobs and 7,000 indirect jobs through increased investment in the sector.

The equity financing window represents the latest evolution of the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, established under Section 104 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act to address financing challenges confronting indigenous oil and gas companies.

Over the past decade, five NCI Fund products managed by BOI and two managed by the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) have provided debt financing to qualified service companies through five-year loans at an interest rate of eight per cent. The new Equity Fund introduces a different financing model aimed at addressing capital constraints that conventional lending has been unable to resolve.

Speaking at the inauguration, Ogbe charged members of the Investment Committee to undertake rigorous due diligence before approving investments and ensure the objectives of the fund are fully realised.

He stressed that the Equity Fund should not be viewed as a grant, noting that beneficiary companies would be expected to deploy the capital responsibly and comply with the agreed investment terms.

“Our top priority should be identifying people who will use the Fund properly and, most importantly, return our funds back to us so that we can continue the programme for other deserving beneficiaries,” he said.

The NCDMB Executive Secretary urged the committee to ensure that only credible businesses with strong growth potential benefit from the scheme, saying prudent investment decisions would determine the long-term sustainability of the fund.

Also speaking, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, described the inauguration as a significant milestone in the implementation of the NCI Equity Fund and another chapter in the nearly decade-long partnership between BOI and the NCDMB.

He recalled that the collaboration began with the management of the $350 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, through which hundreds of indigenous oil and gas companies have obtained financing to expand their businesses.

According to him, the introduction of an equity financing window fills a critical gap in the industry’s financing architecture.

“The next step, which I am very impressed with and very thankful to the NCDMB for thinking through with BOI, is the need to fill the finance gap with equity,” Olusi said.

He explained that equity financing provides an alternative class of capital capable of supporting businesses that possess strong commercial potential but are unable to meet the collateral requirements for conventional bank loans.

Olusi expressed confidence that the fund would attract additional investment into Nigeria’s oil and gas sector while deepening indigenous participation.

“We believe that this fund will help fertilize additional resources and move the industry forward,” he said, adding that members of the Investment Committee have the responsibility to manage the fund with integrity, professionalism and sound investment judgment.

Providing further insight into the structure of the fund, the Group Head of Equity Investments at the Bank of Industry, Mr. Chike Chukwuelu, said the initiative is designed to address what industry experts describe as the “missing middle” in business financing.

He explained that many indigenous companies have viable business models and strong growth prospects but are unable to secure senior debt because they lack the level of collateral demanded by commercial lenders.

Chukwuelu noted that the equity investment model would also enable fund managers to maintain closer oversight of beneficiary companies, helping to strengthen corporate governance, improve operational efficiency and build sustainable businesses.

“What this also does is that we will now have more oversight in these companies because of the instrument that we’re using, and we can help them develop into sustainable companies, which is what the fund is targeted at,” he said.

Senior Technical Adviser to the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Austin Uzoka, said the Equity Fund presents an opportunity to achieve outcomes that previous financing interventions were unable to accomplish.

“The striking thing is that the fund is about doing things the other funds have not been able to accomplish,” he said. Uzoka added that the Investment Committee is expected to provide strategic oversight for the fund, ensure prudent investment decisions and build a portfolio of indigenous companies capable of growing into major players within