“We Are Ready to Help You,” NCDMB Assures Women Entrepreneurs in Oil and Gas

“We Are Ready to Help You,” NCDMB Assures Women Entrepreneurs in Oil and Gas

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Tuesday assured women entrepreneurs in oil and gas of its preparedness to assist them in capacity building and funding as well as integration in the industry value chain.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a four-day Executive Entrepreneurship and Management Workshop for women in Port Harcourt, the Director of Corporate Affairs and Capacity Building of NCDMB, Dr. Ama Ikuru, said knowledge is fundamental to success in business and that business owners and managers have to understand the nature and demands of their areas of investment and the operating environment.  

Explaining the basis of the workshop, organised by the Board in collaboration with Empretec Nigeria Foundation, a private sector initiative of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) devoted to development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), he told participants, “We want you to know more things to make you succeed in this industry.”

He said Entrepreneurs have to invest in assets and know how to manage same, and that they would need to form partnerships as a means to boost business growth. According to him, “If you don’t manage your systems well, and you don’t manage your costs well, your profits will be low; and business is about profits.”

Dr. Ikuru pointed out that business success has nothing to do with gender, noting that “Women manage Fortune 500 Companies [the 500 biggest United States companies by revenue] and manage them profitably.” So women entrepreneurs in Nigeria have the potential to achieve great success as well.

“As a Board, we are ready to help you,” he declared, adding, “We run workshops three weeks on how to get registered in the oil and gas industry,” and that “The Board has a fund for women entrepreneurs in oil and gas with NEXIM Bank.” Women business owners in the sector who fulfill the stipulated conditions could easily access the funds.

Earlier in opening remarks, the Country Representative of Empretec Nigeria Foundation, Mrs. Onari Duke, thanked the NCDMB profusely for creating opportunities for the advancement of women entrepreneurs in the oil and gas industry.

She reminded the entrepreneurs of “the very challenging environment under which businesses operate” and why the workshop, which focuses on “entrepreneurial mindset, business growth strategies, financial sustainability, and leveraging technology for market competitiveness,” is crucial.  

Mrs. Duke, wife of one-time Cross River State Governor Donald Duke, urged them to bear in mind that, “Having been empowered, we have to empower other women.”  

The 4-day intensive training programme began on Monday with registration formalities and a facility tour of a compressed natural gas (CNG) plant in Port Harcourt, owned and operated by Total Support Limited.