NCDMB To Boost Women’s Access To Funding, Others

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has said women operators in the Nigerian oil and gas industry will soon benefit from gender-friendly policies on access to funding, award of contracts and support for research and development.

The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Mr Simbi Wabote, was quoted in a statement as saying that there should be special initiatives to encourage women participation in the oil and gas industry.

He noted that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act were instituted as a deliberate agenda to get more Nigerians to participate in the industry.

Wabote, at a workshop organised by the NCDMB for women in the industry in Lagos, said the board would review its strategy on the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund.

He said, “Access to finance is very important and we will look at our policy to see how we can support women who are serious to do business.”

According to him, two companies managed by women have already benefitted from the NCI Fund because the NCDMB took deliberate actions to ensure that.

Wabote said the board would work with project promoters in the industry to ensure the award of some contracts to companies owned by women, including the Nigeria LNG Limited, which is set to start the execution of the Train 7 project.

He said the NCDMB would also encourage the study of sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics by young girls in secondary schools and drive the collation of data on women who participate in various sectors of the oil and gas industry in a bid to support them.

“Out of the total number trained by the board, women constitute about 20 per cent of the trainees and we hope to increase the number of women trained to meet up the industry’s skilled labour demand,” Wabote added.