NCDMB, UN Women Move to Unlock $40m Fund for Women in Oil and Gas
By Pan Afric Reporters
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and UN Women are exploring joint measures to improve women’s access to the $40 million Women in Oil and Gas Fund and expand their participation in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
The NCDMB disclosed this in a press release issued in Abuja on Friday, October 30, 2026, and signed by its General Manager, Corporate Communications, Dr Obinna Ezeobi, following a meeting between the Board and a delegation led by UN Women’s Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Beatrice Eyong, at its Abuja liaison office.
The proposed partnership is expected to address barriers preventing women-owned businesses from accessing the dedicated financing facility, strengthen capacity development and create more opportunities for women across the oil and gas value chain.
The $40 million fund comprises an initial $20 million facility established by NCDMB in April 2021 to support women-owned and women-led businesses in the sector, with the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) providing an additional $20 million as a matching contribution.
Despite the funding commitment and favourable loan terms, the Board said uptake of the facility had remained below expectations, prompting discussions on strategies to improve awareness and access.
During the meeting, Eyong proposed a study to identify the factors limiting women’s access to the fund, including possible challenges relating to documentation, business registration, tax compliance and inadequate awareness of the financing opportunities.
She also commended NCDMB for its existing gender-inclusion initiatives and highlighted UN Women’s programmes on women’s economic empowerment, leadership development and the elimination of gender-based violence.
The discussions further examined capacity-building programmes for NCDMB personnel to integrate gender considerations into project planning, budgeting and implementation, as well as vendor development schemes to prepare women-led businesses for opportunities in the industry.
Other proposals included raising awareness of available financing options and exploring affirmative procurement measures to increase the participation of women-owned companies in the oil and gas value chain.
Receiving the delegation on behalf of the Executive Secretary, Engr Felix Omatsola Ogbe, NCDMB’s General Manager of Corporate Communications, Dr Ezeobi, welcomed the proposals and reaffirmed the Board’s readiness to collaborate with UN Women.
He highlighted the Board’s existing financing arrangement with NEXIM Bank, which provides women-owned and women-led businesses access to loans at a competitive interest rate of five per cent.
Ezeobi also cited the establishment of a Diversity Sectoral Working Group under the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF), designed to mainstream gender issues into local content policies and decision-making processes.
According to him, NCDMB has also supported associations of women working across the energy industry value chain, providing platforms for networking, confidence-building, career development and business growth.
The Board, he said, had invested in capacity-building programmes for women entrepreneurs and business leaders in areas such as business sustainability, corporate governance and strategic management.
It has also supported women’s participation in technical occupations and encouraged young girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
However, Ezeobi acknowledged that women remained underrepresented in the oil and gas industry, identifying limited access to technical education, finance and commercial opportunities, as well as entrenched perceptions of the sector as predominantly male, as major obstacles.
He reaffirmed the Board’s commitment to working with UN Women to tackle the challenges and strengthen support for programmes that promote gender inclusion across the industry.
The proposed collaboration is expected to build on existing interventions by improving access to finance, strengthening women-led enterprises and creating a more inclusive environment for women to participate and compete in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
