The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has called for deeper collaboration among African countries, including harmonising local content policies, to unlock the continent’s capacity in the oil and gas industry and drive economic diversification and industrial growth.

The call was made during a strategic engagement in Namibia on African Local Content Opportunities and cross-border partnerships, where the Board pushed for greater use of African companies and capabilities in executing energy projects across the continent.

Representing the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, Dr Abdulmalik Halilu said African countries must move beyond developing local content frameworks individually and build partnerships that allow businesses to deploy their capabilities across national borders.

Speaking on the theme, ‘African Local Content Opportunities: Pathway to Economic Diversification and Development’, Halilu said several African countries had established legal and regulatory frameworks for local content development, providing a foundation for regional integration and industrial cooperation.

He said African local content should promote the development and utilisation of cross-border capacities and capabilities as a catalyst for industrialisation.

Halilu referenced key aspirations of the 2025 APPO Ministerial Council Brazzaville Declaration, which encourages African countries to strengthen supplier capacity, support skills development and knowledge transfer, promote joint ventures and partnerships, harmonise local content regulations and encourage public-private partnerships to increase African participation in the oil and gas industry.

He also highlighted existing African capabilities in fabrication, engineering, manufacturing, subsea services, marine operations and project execution, arguing that the continent already possesses significant capacity that could be deployed more effectively through strategic collaboration.

Drawing from Nigeria’s experience, Halilu said the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act had demonstrated the impact of a data-driven local content framework on indigenous participation in the oil and gas sector.

He said robust data systems, compliance monitoring, supplier development initiatives and strategic investments had strengthened local participation and improved industry competitiveness.

According to him, the next phase of African local content development should focus on practical business-to-business partnerships that enable companies from different African countries to pursue and execute major projects jointly.

He identified prime-subcontractor arrangements, incorporated local content joint ventures, contractual consortium bids and reciprocal market access alliances as mechanisms through which African companies could expand their participation in large-scale energy projects.

However, he said an integrated African local content ecosystem would require coordinated reforms in regulatory harmonisation, trade facilitation, customs cooperation, immigration and access to sustainable financing.

He also backed the creation of a Pan-African supplier database and interactive opportunities platform to aggregate African capabilities and connect businesses with projects across the continent.

“The opportunities available across Africa can only be fully unlocked through deliberate and synchronised efforts that enable cross-border service delivery and industrial collaboration. The Brazzaville Declaration represents an important starting point, but implementation, partnership, and policy alignment will ultimately determine the success of Pan-African local content,” Halilu stated.

He said leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework and strengthening cooperation among African institutions and businesses would create opportunities for indigenous companies to compete, collaborate and deliver projects across the continent.