By Clara Nwachukwu

Shell Companies in Nigeria, SCiN, have identified social investment as key to sustainable development of the Niger Delta region and fast track the economic growth of the country. In line with its corporate social responsibility, CSR, the Groupis work with government, communities and civil society to implement programmes that have a lasting impact on lives in the Niger Delta and beyond.

According to Shell, “Social investment activities are focused in particular on community and enterprise development, education and health,” and have therefore outlined a number of programmes in this regard, which are in various stages of execution

Enterprise development

Launched in Nigeria in 2003, the LiveWIRE is Shell’s flagship youth enterprise development programme. It provides access to training, business development services and start-up capital. Speaking on the success of the programme, SCiN Country Chair, Mr. Osagie Okunbor, said:

“To date, the programme has trained more than 6,000 Niger Delta youths in enterprise development and management, of whom more than 3,000 have been provided with business start-up grants.”

He added that “In 2014, the scheme was broadened to include a specific focus on people with physical impairments;180 disabled people had already benefited from training and grants by the end of the year.” Due to restiveness in the oil rich Niger Delta, Okunbor disclosed that “LiveWIRE was also extended into Ogoniland in 2014, with the objective of raising living standards and reducing crude oil theft through the promotion of alternative livelihoods. The first trainees graduated in February 2015.

Investing in Education

Shell Companies have a long history of supporting education through scholarships and other initiatives. In 2014 alone, about $14.8 million was invested in scholarships and other education programmes by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Joint Venture, SPDC JV, and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, SNEPCo.

To consolidate on the gains of investing in education, SCiN is also in the process of awarding grants to no fewer than 1,356 secondary school students and 925 university undergraduates.

In addition, the Group has also initiated a ‘Cradle to Career’ programme through which it pays for children from rural communities in the Niger Delta to attend some of the country’s top secondary schools. About 120 students received scholarships under the programme in 2014, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 360 since the scheme was launched in 2010.

Commenting, Shell’s Sustainable Development & Community Relations Manager, Mr. Igo Weli, noted: “A dearth of world class research institutions and limited access to technology is a key challenge in enabling Nigerians and Nigerian companies to play an even greater role in the oil and gas value chain.

“SCiN therefore focuses on building capacity in key technical skills, for example donating equipment to universities to develop capability in the production of drilling mud. Ten graduate scholarships are also awarded annually to students from Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states to study engineering and geosciences at topuniversities overseas, building a talent pipeline within host communities.

Community health

In the area of community health, SCiN has supported various projects in the Niger Delta since the 1980. Some of these include equipment and pharmaceutical donations as well as the construction of hospitals and implementation of malaria and HIV/AIDs control programmes. Currently, the SPDC JV supports 20 health centres in the region. Specifically, the Obio Cottage Hospital in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was set up by the SPDC JV in 2010.

The hospital is now reputed as one of the most visited health facilities in the region. This is due to a community health insurance scheme which was the first of its kind for the Niger Delta, Shell added. Expatiating, Weli said: “The Obio scheme enables people to pay a subsidised annual premium of $60, well below the usual cost of treatment (typical costs for hospital childbirth care in the Niger Delta, for example, are $300-350).

“This opens up access to a range of vaccinations, pregnancy and childbirth care and surgical operations. By the end of 2014 more than 45,000 people had been enrolled on the programme, with over 10,000 babies safely delivered.

Transparency, accountability through GMoUs

To ensure that investments in social development are contracted in a seamless manner, the SPDC JV since 2006 has delivered the majority of its social investment projects via the Global Memorandum of Understanding, GMoU model. According to Shell, “This seeks to increase transparency and accountability around project delivery and give communities greater ownership of projects from their inception.”

Thus, a GMoU is a written statement between the SPDC JV and a cluster of communities based on local government or clan affinity. Under the terms of the GMoUs the communities decide the developments they want whileShell provides secure funding for five years. As at the end of 2014, there were about 41 active GMoUs in place, covering 413 communities in the Niger Delta region.