In many Nigerian communities, the story is often the same: women with incredible skills but no capital to grow a business, young people full of ideas but locked out of opportunities. For decades, this cycle of untapped potential has slowed progress at the grassroots. But in places like Benue, Nasarawa, and Delta, the tide is turning. Thanks to the Sam Empowerment Foundation (SEF), the CSR arm of Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited, women and youth are not just learning trades — they are rewriting the economic story of their communities.
Take Mary*, for instance. A single mother of three in Nasarawa, she once relied on seasonal farm work that barely kept food on the table. Through SEF’s vocational training program, she learned tailoring, received start-up support, and today runs a small shop that supports her family and employs two apprentices. “I no longer worry about my children’s school fees,” she says, smiling. Mary’s story is just one among thousands proving that empowerment is more than a word — it’s a lifeline.
SEF has trained more than 7,500 women and young people in vocational skills ranging from tailoring to ICT, agriculture to welding. Beyond training, it ensures that beneficiaries are supported with start-up kits and small grants, helping them transition from learners to business owners. The result is a ripple effect that spreads across communities. Those who have been empowered not only earn a living for themselves but often create employment opportunities for others. Families become more stable, households are able to cover basic needs like food and education, and entire communities thrive from the presence of small but steady businesses that keep the local economy alive.
Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate has been a long-standing challenge, while women often face structural barriers that prevent them from contributing fully to the economy. Oceangate’s approach doesn’t just provide handouts; it builds capacity and resilience. Grassroots empowerment ensures that development is sustainable. When young people and women are given tools to succeed, they don’t just improve their own lives — they become engines of progress in their communities.
For Oceangate, this isn’t about corporate charity. It is about a business philosophy where oil and gas profits must fuel human progress. By investing in women and youth, Oceangate is investing in the backbone of society. And when that backbone is strong, entire communities rise.
The transformation taking place in communities touched by SEF is a reminder of what is possible when corporations commit to inclusion. Every business started, every skill learned, and every young dream supported is proof that CSR can be both profitable and purposeful. Oceangate’s story is clear: when you empower women and youth, you don’t just break cycles of poverty — you build cycles of prosperity.
