Eni Rovuma Basin and Standard Bank launch the entrepreneurship support program iCreate

Maputo (Mozambique), 30 September 2021 - Eni Rovuma Basin, on behalf of the Area 4 Partners and in partnership with Standard Bank's Business Incubator, has launched iCreate, its first entrepreneurship support program. This program is part of the local content plan of the Coral South Project and is aimed at Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) that have been operating in the market for more than two years.

The iCreate program aims to strengthen the capacity of SMEs that are already established in the market and that have high potential for growth, in order to make them more competitive and sustainable in the long term. The 12-weeks training program will take place from the 30^th of September to the 10^th of December of this year.

In addition to training, the initiative includes mentoring and business consultancy support tailored to the needs of the companies, which will also be exposed to market and financing opportunities. The program offers access to a variety of business support services, as well as content from partners and specialists from various sectors of activity.

During the training, several topics for the sustainability and growth of small and medium-sized companies will be addressed, including "Opportunities for SMEs", "Management in Times of Crisis", "Digital Marketing", " Future-proof Businesses" , “Evolution of the Business Model”, “Finance for Non-Finance Companies”, “Import and Export Solutions”, “Risks and Insurance” and “Hygiene, Health and Safety at Work”.

For the first edition of iCreate, 25 SMEs were selected from a total of 122 companies that applied to participate in the #Ideate Bootcamp business immersion programs, also organized by the Business Incubator and Eni Rovuma Basin, throughout 2019 and 2020.

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Eni Rovuma Basin BV is the delegated Operator leading the Coral South Project and the construction and operation of offshore facilities in Area 4 of the Rovuma basin, in the northern coast of Mozambique.

The Area 4 Concession is located offshore of the Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique and is operated by Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A (owned by Eni SpA, ExxonMobil Development Africa BV and CNODC Dutch Cooperatief UA), which holds a seventy percent participation interest alongside Galp Energia Rovuma BV, Kogas Moçambique Ltd and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos EP, each with a ten percent participation interest.