This announcement was made during a cordial meeting held at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, where a delegation from Union Bank Nigeria paid a courtesy visit.

Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, the Managing Director of the Commission, affirmed the NDDC's dedication to forging partnerships to advance women's empowerment within the Niger Delta region.

 “We are looking at providing single digit loans to support the women. That is why we are supporting the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce to build entrepreneurs. The Chamber of Commerce will help us to share the risks and build a database which will guide the NDDC in setting up empowerment schemes. We are also setting up structures to monitor the performance of the entrepreneurs.”

Ogbuku noted that the initiation of the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce registration, led by the NDDC will expand the Commission's efforts in empowering the residents of the Niger Delta area through entrepreneurial initiatives.

In order to boost the entrepreneurial advancement and accelerate regional development, the head of NDDC explained that the Commission has opted to embrace the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, which will help secure supplementary funding streams for its vital development initiatives and programs.

“The Niger Delta is the bedrock of the Nigerian economy and we need peace for development to thrive in the region. We need to get people engaged to ensure peace. Women in the region are very industrious but we need to strengthen them.”