Underutilisation of NCDMB’s $40m Women in Energy Fund Worries WIEN

Peter Uzoho 

The $40 million intervention fund set up to grow the capacity of women operating in the energy sector in Nigeria, particularly oil and gas industry, has remained largely underutilised due to limited access to bankable contract opportunities for female players, the Women in Energy Network (WIEN), has said.

The Fund, which was floated in November 2025 by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in collaboration with the Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) seeks to promote women’s participation in the operations of Nigeria’s oil, gas, and mining industries.

Specifically, the Fund is targeted at businesses and companies with female CEOs, in addition to women holding a minimum of 51 per cent ownership and occupy significant roles in the running of the business, 40 per cent of which must be at a management level.

The fund came as part of the ways to address the decline in women’s representation in the oil and gas industry as captured in a report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

In the said report, NEITI had stated that in 2022, out of 6,728 employees in the oil and gas industry, only 1,144, or 17 per cent, were women, while in 2023, the total number of employees increased to 8,694, with women accounting for only 1,391.

However, in its appraisal of the performance of the multi-million dollar fund, WIEN complained of its underutilisation, blaming it on structural issues and limited access to bankable contract opportunities for women in the oil and gas sector.

President of WIEN, Eyono Fatayi-Williams made the group’s observation known during a policy engagement with the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, arguing that the underutilisation did not stem from lack of capable women-owned businesses but due to limited access to bankable contract opportunities.

The Network called for urgent structural reforms in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry to remove systemic barriers limiting women’s participation across workforce, leadership, and enterprise ownership. WIEN presented sector data highlighting persistent gaps: Women account for 18.2 per cent of Nigeria’s energy workforce and 25.6 per cent of leadership roles; despite over 35,000 companies active on the JQS platform, less than 2 per cent are women-owned.

It also stated that women represent only 17 per cent of current STEM enrolments, signaling a constrained future technical pipeline.

In her response, the special adviser acknowledged the challenges presented and expressed commitment to promoting policies that ensure women are not structurally locked out of economic opportunities in the oil and gas industry before they are given a fair opportunity to grow.