MICROCAPITAL STORY: Shell Petroleum Development Company Shells out USD 2.3 million in Microfinance Loans to Nigerian Communities

48 communities within Nigeria benefited from N288 million (USD 2.3 million) in loans, courtesy of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), a subsidiary of the Royal Dutch Shell oil corporation operating in Nigeria, as a branch of Shell Nigeria. The loan is part of SPDC’s micro-credit and business development program aimed at “enabl[ing] entrepreneurs to take advantage of the economic opportunities in their locality.” Benefiting communities included in the loan are from Edo, Delta and Bayelsa States. The revolving loan must be paid back for other communities to benefit from, and according to an article by The Daily Sun, Mr Ubaka Emelumadu, Community Affairs Director, Shell disclosed that the amount will be disbursed to 5,780 beneficiaries in the company’s western area of operations. The beneficiaries are expected to invest the fund in the businesses they have indicated interest in and have been trained for. Mr. Emelumadu further noted that in batch one which had been disbursed last June, Shell gave out N270 million (USD 2.1 million) as micro-credit loans to 5,297 persons drawn from 45 host communities, bringing up the total loans dispersed thus far to around USD 4.4 million.

Shell Petroleum Development Company is a company of Shell Nigeria, and according to its website “the largest oil and gas company in
Nigeria.” It is the operator of a joint venture involving: Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), 55 per cent, Shell 30 per cent, Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited (EPNL, a subsidiary of Total), 10 per cent, and Agip Oil Nigeria, 5 per cent. Its mission is “to be the operator of first choice in Nigeria through its commitment to strong economic performance and to every aspect of sustainable development.” Currently, it produces 43 percent of the nation’s oil and has more than 4,500 in staff.

–Monica Sharma, Research Assistant

Shell Nigeria: The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.

AllAfrica.com: Nigeria: Shell Disburses N288m to Host Communities by Emma Arubi.

Daily Sun: Shell gives N288m microcredit to 48 communities by Emmanuel Ogoigbe.

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