$40m fund for women entrepreneurs

By Muyiwa Lucas

Women entrepreneurs in the oil and gas industry can nwo benefit from the $40 million Women in Oil and Gas Intervention Fund deployed by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM). The NCDMB is contributing $20 million to the pool, while NEXIM will supply the balance.

The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Simbi Kesiye Wabote and the Managing Director of NEXIM, Mr. Abubakar Bello, signed the memorandum of understanding (Mou) on the administration of the Fund earlier in the week in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

The target beneficiaries are firms where women hold majority shareholding of 51 percent or where at least 50 percent of management are women or where the chief executive officers and at least 40 percent of management are women.

According to the Executive Secretary, the scheme, which has been rolled out, would be available to both startups and other companies. It covers manufacturing, oil service contracts, environment management, leasing, logistics, catering and training.

He confirmed that the maximum amount that could be borrowed by a single obligor is $500,000 or its Naira equivalent at the official exchange rate prevailing at the time of borrowing. He added that the tenor shall be up to five years and the applicable interest rate would be five percent all-in yearly, fixed throughout the tenor of the loan.

Wabote confirmed that the maximum processing time shall be 21 working days from the date the applicant has provided all required documentation and all applications shall be through the web.

Bello explained that the partnership with NCDMB fits into the bank’s framework for supporting inclusion as well as its strategy to grow the service industry in Nigeria and take it to the point of export to the West African region and other oil and gas economies.

Also, the Chairperson of the Diversity Sectoral Working Group, Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, Mrs. Alero Onosede, commended the Board for providing practical enablers to support diversity in the industry. She assured that women in the oil and gas industry would take advantage of the Fund to increase capacity in the industry and grow the economy.