BY Mary Ugbodaga
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in partnership with the Nigerian Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank has launched a $40 million intervention fund for women entrepreneurs in the oil and gas industry.
Simbi Wabote, NCDMB executive secretary, and Abubakar Bello, NEXIM Bank managing director, signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the administration of the fund in Bayelsa on Tuesday.
Both the NCDMB and NEXIM Bank will contribute $20 billion each to the target beneficiaries, which include firms where: women hold majority shareholding of 51 percent; at least 50 percent of management are women; chief executive officers and at least 40 percent of management are women.
Wabote said the roll-out date of the fund commences on Thursday and the scheme would be availed to both startups and existing companies within the oil and gas industry.
The scheme will cover manufacturing, oil service contracts, environment management, leasing, logistics, catering and training.
According to the NCDMB executive secretary, beneficiaries can borrow up to $500,000, the tenor will be five years while the interest rate for the loan will be five percent per annum.
Wabote further said all applications will be conducted online and the maximum processing time shall be 21 working days from the date the applicant has provided all required documentation.
In his remarks, Bello said 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.
Similarly, both firms had signed an MoU on the administration of a $30 million working capital fund for oil and gas service companies.
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