AGF, ACP-EU to launch $12m credit guarantee on minerals devt in Nigeria

AGF, ACP-EU to launch $12m credit guarantee on minerals devt in Nigeria
By Isaac Aregbesola
Minerals
Abuja, Oct. 26, 2018 (NAN) African Guarantee Fund (AGF) for small and medium-sized enterprises and the ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme will on Oct. 29 launch 12 million dollars credit guarantee partnership on Inclusive Financing of Development Minerals in Nigeria.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) Communication Expert in Nigeria, Mr Lucky Mosunda, in a statement on Friday in Abuja, said that the programme would be launched in Lagos.
The scheme he said was to develop the solid minerals sector to enhance the economic diversification efforts of Nigerian government.
“The economic outlook in Nigeria is positive with a projected growth rate of 2.1 per cent in 2018 and 2.5 per cent in 2019.
“A deliberate move to diversify the country’s economy away from oil has seen greater attention paid to solid minerals, which are expected to play a pivotal role in the infrastructure, construction, manufacturing, agriculture and housing sectors.
“Majority of the solid minerals such as industrial minerals, like gypsum and salt, construction materials like gravel, sand and limestone, are referred to as Development Minerals.
“Others are dimension stones like as marble and granite, and semi-precious stones like tourmaline and garnet,” he said.
According to him, development minerals are minerals and materials that are mined, processed and utilised locally, and are crucial for improved livelihoods, employment creation, local, national and regional development all of which catalyse transformative inclusive development.
“They nurture home-grown jobs, especially those of youth and women, and boost local enterprise development.
“Key sectors driving demand for development minerals in Lagos State include the construction and housing sectors as well the infrastructure and transport sectors,” he said.
According to him, despite the large presence of diverse development minerals, many of them remained largely unexploited, partly due to lack of financing for SMEs operating in the sector.
He said African Caribbean Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU) Development Minerals Programme in 2017 announced a 12 million dollars Memorandum of Understanding with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to provide credit guarantee facilities to financial institutions.
“The financial institutions are grant loans to Small and Medium Enterprises operating in the Development Minerals sector in Nigeria, Uganda, Cameroon, Guinea (Conakry) and Zambia.
“In Nigeria, this partnership will be formally launched by dignitaries from the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, the Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, European Union, UNDP and the AGF,” he said.
He said that about 40 financial institutions representatives were expected to attend the event. (NAN)
IAA/GOM/MST
Edited by Gregory Mmaduakolam/Muhammad Suleiman Tola