Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, former Government Secretary of the Nigerian Content material Improvement and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), will converse on the upcoming Namibia Worldwide Vitality Convention (NIEC) 2024, unlocking newfound collaboration between the 2 nations on native content material coverage improvement and implementation.
Since his appointment in 2016, Wabote has been a fierce advocate of native beneficiation for each Nigerians and Africans throughout the sector, steering strategic nationwide applications to construct native capability, calling for enhanced transparency in contracting processes and boosting native manufacturing capabilities. The NCDMB serves to evaluation Nigerian content material plans developed by operators, set pointers and minimal content material ranges for project-related actions throughout the oil and gasoline worth chain and have interaction in focused capability constructing interventions, amongst different key duties, with a view to reaching 70% native content material by 2027.
Vitality Capital & Energy is a strategic associate of the Namibia Worldwide Vitality Convention (NIEC) – going down in Windhoek on April 23-25, 2024. The sixth annual convention unites business leaders, enterprise executives and policymakers to interact in dialogue, trade concepts, create new partnerships and determine methods to foster a affluent power business in Namibia and past. For extra data, please go to https://www.nieconference.com/
Having spent 26 years at Shell Petroleum Improvement Firm Nigeria, Wabote gives a singular non-public sector perspective on native content material improvement and compliance, with roles spanning enterprise administration to authorities relations to native content material technique. Throughout his tenure on the NCDMB, Wabote established a sequence of impactful initiatives together with the $350-million Nigerian Content material Intervention Fund, which gives reasonably priced credit score for Nigerian oil and gasoline service corporations and native contractors, in addition to the $40-million Girls in Oil and Gasoline Intervention Fund, created in partnership with the Nigerian Export-Import Financial institution.
These coverage interventions, pioneered by the NCDMB below Wabote’s management, might function a blueprint for different African nations looking for to immediately translate oil and gasoline revenues into native content material improvement. Namibia, for its half, is within the technique of drafting its personal Nationwide Upstream Petroleum Native Content material Coverage, following a sequence of high-profile offshore discoveries since 2022. The southern African nation is looking for to ascertain an efficient coverage that allows coaching and ability improvement, job creation and the participation of nationwide corporations and repair suppliers throughout the sector, with a view to producing and retaining native worth.
As Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Vitality continues to seek the advice of with stakeholders on its draft coverage, NIEC 2024 represents a useful platform to trade native content material finest practices, in addition to catalyze new funding in infrastructure, capability constructing and know-how. The NCDMB is without doubt one of the key options that units Nigeria’s native content material coverage aside in that it oversees and implements the Nigerian Oil and Gasoline Trade Content material Improvement Act, whereas forming strategic partnerships with main business gamers and academic establishments.
“As an rising producer, Namibia can study from mature markets like Nigeria in the case of establishing a complete native content material framework with particular pointers. Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote has been a long-time champion of accelerating indigenous participation in oil and gasoline contracts and making certain that coverage interventions help nationwide native content material targets. A well-formulated native content material coverage is crucial to creating each back and forth linkages throughout Namibia’s worth chain that guarantee oil and gasoline assets are leveraged for inclusive development,” says Selma Shimutwikeni, CEO of RichAfrica Consultancy, organizers of NIEC 2024.
