The Federal Government has launched a $100 million equity investment scheme to boost the capacity of Nigerian companies in the oil and gas sector. The initiative was unveiled on Tuesday at the 2025 Practical Nigerian Content Forum in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Engr. Felix Ogbe. The plan is part of ongoing efforts to provide funding support for local firms, Ogbe stated at the 14th Practical Nigerian Content conference.
Speaking during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the NCDMB and the Bank of Industry, Ogbe explained that the scheme is designed to support high-growth Indigenous energy service companies. He said the fund “will provide equity financing to high-growth indigenous energy service companies while diversifying our NCDF’s income base and strengthening local content development.” According to him, affordable finance remains a major tool for empowering local players in the industry.
“As part of our efforts to provide affordable finance for local players in the industry, we have concluded arrangements to establish the $100 Million Dollars Equity Investment Scheme in partnership with the Bank of Industry,” he said. He added that “This is a new product in our Nigerian Content Intervention Fund.”
Ogbe noted that the finance scheme would help expand funding access for Indigenous firms while “diversifying our NCDF’s income base and strengthening local content development.” He also revealed that the Board had completed the framework for issuing the NCDF Compliance Certificate, a new instrument confirming companies’ compliance with the statutory one percent remittance rule.
The certificate, which takes effect from January 1, 2026, will be compulsory for obtaining major permits and approvals from the Board. He stressed that the certificate will be required before companies can receive regulatory approvals.
He pointed to improvements in local content achievements, saying Nigerian content levels in monitored projects rose from 56 percent last year to 61 percent. He cited major projects such as Nigeria LNG Train 7, NNPC’s Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, and TotalEnergies’ Ubeta gas development as examples of progress.
“In addition, as indicated in my PNC speech last year, the Board has expanded access to community contractors under the Community Contractors Scheme, achieving over 94 disbursements in 2025,” Ogbe said. He recalled that the board introduced the Project 100 companies in 2019 and revealed that “we will host an exit plan by April 2026 and onboard a new set of Project 100 companies.”
He added that upcoming initiatives include a technology challenge in early 2026, expanded oilfield skill training programmes, and stronger measures to curb fraudulent applications for local content certificates.
