The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has restated its commitment to dismantle funding barriers to women-led and women-owned businesses, strengthen their capacity and promote affirmative procurement opportunities in the petroleum industry.

The NCDMB said it is exploring opportunities to collaborate with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) to expand women’s participation in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

The renewed partnership initiative emerged during a meeting between NCDMB and a delegation from UN Women, led by its Country Representative to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ms. Beatrice Eyong, at the Board’s Abuja liaison office on Thursday.

The delegation was received by NCDMB’s General Manager of Corporate Communications, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, who represented the Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe.

Discussions focused on proposed capacity-building programmes for NCDMB personnel to strengthen the integration of gender considerations into the Board’s project planning, budgeting and implementation processes.

The agency stated that the collaboration would work particularly at improving access to a dedicated $40 million financing facility for women-owned and women-led businesses.

The collaboration seeks to address persistent barriers limiting women’s access to funding and commercial opportunities in the petroleum industry, despite the establishment of a special financing scheme by NCDMB and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) more than five years ago.

Established in April 2021, the facility comprises an initial $20 million commitment by NCDMB, matched by an additional $20 million from NEXIM Bank, to provide affordable financing for women-owned and women-led businesses operating in the oil and gas sector.

However, uptake of the facility has remained below expectations despite its favourable lending conditions, prompting renewed efforts to identify and address the obstacles preventing eligible businesses from accessing the funds.

The organisations also examined opportunities to strengthen vendor development programmes, improve awareness of available financing facilities and introduce affirmative procurement measures to increase the participation of women-owned businesses across the oil and gas value chain.

Eyong commended NCDMB for its existing gender inclusion initiatives, noting that several of the Board’s interventions were consistent with UN Women’s objectives of promoting women’s economic empowerment and leadership.

She proposed a comprehensive study to establish why women entrepreneurs were experiencing difficulties accessing the $40 million financing facility, including possible challenges relating to documentation, business registration, tax compliance and inadequate awareness of the scheme.

The proposed assessment is expected to provide evidence-based recommendations for improving access to the facility and ensuring that more qualified women-owned businesses benefit from the financing opportunity.

Eyong also highlighted UN Women’s ongoing programmes covering women’s economic empowerment, leadership development and the elimination of gender-based violence, among other interventions, which could provide opportunities for collaboration with NCDMB.

Responding, Ezeobi welcomed the proposals and reaffirmed the Board’s readiness to deepen its partnership with UN Women to address structural barriers limiting women’s participation in the petroleum industry.

He outlined several initiatives already implemented by NCDMB to promote women’s economic inclusion, including the dedicated financing arrangement with NEXIM Bank, which provides eligible women-owned and women-led businesses access to loans at a highly competitive interest rate of five per cent.

He also highlighted the establishment of a Diversity Sectoral Working Group within the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF), designed to mainstream gender considerations into local content policy development and industry decision-making.

According to him, the Board also supports associations of women professionals and entrepreneurs operating across the energy industry value chain, providing platforms for networking, confidence-building, career advancement and business development.

Ezeobi further disclosed that NCDMB had invested in capacity-building programmes for women entrepreneurs and business leaders, covering critical areas such as business sustainability, corporate governance and strategic management.

The Board has also supported women’s participation in technical occupations while encouraging young girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), as part of efforts to build a stronger pipeline of female talent for the oil and gas industry.

He acknowledged, however, that women remained underrepresented across several segments of the petroleum industry, with limited access to technical education, financing and commercial opportunities continuing to constrain their participation.

He also identified entrenched perceptions of oil and gas as a predominantly male industry as another factor discouraging women’s entry and advancement in the sector.

Ezeobi consequently reaffirmed NCDMB’s commitment to working with UN Women to address these challenges and develop strategies for accelerating the implementation of gender inclusion programmes across the industry.

The proposed collaboration comes amid growing recognition of the importance of broadening indigenous participation in Nigeria’s petroleum industry beyond ownership and technical capacity to include greater access for women entrepreneurs, professionals and service providers.

NCDMB stated that improving access to the $40 million facility represents an opportunity to translate an existing financial commitment into tangible business growth, employment creation and greater participation of women in the country’s oil and gas value chain.