Chevron makes $112m commitment to Partnership Initiative in Niger Delta

By Uthman Salami

One of the leading international oil companies, Chevron Nigeria Limited has made a commitment of  $112 million into the Partnership Initiative In the Niger Delta as part of its efforts in combating deep rooted socio-economic challenges within the region.

This was contained in the company’s 2021 corporate responsibility report, enabling human progress and creating prosperity, which was made available to Nigerian NewsDirect.

The initiative, code named as PIND, “is the Nigeria-based implementing partner of the United States-based Niger Delta

Partnership Initiatives (NDPI) Foundation  Inc. established by Chevron Corporation in 2010.

“It was initiated as a regional strategy for addressing deep-rooted socio-economic problems in the Niger Delta rather than simply attempting to manage the symptoms.

“PIND does this in collaboration with a growing network of international and local partners,” the report partly read.

In partnership with a private sector developers in 2021, the initiative  promote the installation of energy cabins and solar refrigeration hubs in mostly off-grid  communities.

The report further shows that the initiative has reached “67,213  smallhold er farmers and enterprises with information on best farming and business practices and leveraged N10.83 billion worth of investments from public and private partners to spur growth in the sectors.”

In order to ensure that farmers purchase improved farm inputs for maximal yields, additional loans worth N226.9 million were given to 742 farmers.

While “45,433 smallholder farmers and enterprises adopted new practices and, as a result, recorded increased yield and productivity that increased their income by N16.42 billion. Over 10, 471 new full-time equivalent jobs in these sectors were created.

In the area of youth employment, PIND began a Youth Employment Pathways (YEP) project in Delta State to enhance youth employability and boost their capacity for entrepreneurship.

“Nine implementing  partners received grants of over N71 million to train the young Nigerians in Information Communications Technology (ICT), construction, agriculture, and the service sector,” the report states.