The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has unveiled a $100m Equity Investment Scheme among a raft of fresh initiatives to bolster indigenous capacity and participation in the oil and gas industry.
The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Ogbe announced this in a keynote address he delivered at the opening day of the 14th Practical Nigerian Content Forum.
The audience included three ministers of state, members of the Local Content Committees of the National Assembly, a representative of the Bayelsa State Governor, Special Adviser to the President on Energy, two former Executive Secretaries of the NCDMB, Managing Director, Bank of Industry, and captains of the oil and gas industry.
According to Ogbe, the $100m Equity Investment Scheme would “provide equity financing to high-growth indigenous energy service companies, while diversifying the income base of the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF).”
In furtherance of the $100m Equity Investment Scheme, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed at the event between Ogbe and the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, toward management of the scheme, which is a new product of the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund).
The NCDMB boss also announced that 61 per cent Nigerian Content level already attained in the oil and gas sector by the third quarter of 2025 from the projects being monitored by the Board.
Another major announcement was the Board’s readiness to onboard a new set of Project 100 Companies after the successful implementation of approved interventions relating to the first set of Project 100 Companies, launched in 2019, for which an exit plan is slated for April 2026.
Project 100 Companies is an initiative of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NCDMB under which 100 indigenous companies in the oil and gas industry are nurtured and empowered to higher levels of competitiveness through capacity building and access to market opportunities.
He also said the Board has concluded plans to launch its NCDMB Technology Challenge in the first quarter of 2026 and to hold a Research and Development Fair in the second quarter of 2026.
In addition, a review of the Board’s seven current guidelines is to be undertaken between the first and second quarter of 2015.
Ogbe further disclosed that the Board has completed the framework for issuance of NCDF Compliance Certificate, an instrument to confirm that a company in the oil and gas industry has complied with the one per cent remittance obligations.
The Certificate will become effective on Ist January 2026 and would be required to obtain key permits and approvals from the Board.
Among recent accomplishments of the Board announced by the NCDMB boss was the expansion of access to community contractors under the Community Contractors Scheme, with over 94 disbursements made in 2025 alone.
In addition, the Nigerian Content Academy has commenced operation as a full-fledged division of the Board, with seven of its Lecture Series on key industry issues already organised.
On human capacity development (HCD), the NCDMB has rolled out its Oil and Gas Field Readiness Training Programme for top 10 skills in high demand, on the back of the surge in final investment decisions (FIDs) on big-ticket projects in the oil and gas industry and over 20 Field Development Plans recently approved by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The Programme is to ensure availability of indigenous technical capacity at the take-off of the projects.
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