Arrangements are in the pipeline to woo investors and disburse N4 billion to small and medium enterprises and women in agriculture in Zamfara state, Governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar has said.
Abubakar, who spoke through the Commissioner for Commerce and Industries, Alhaji Hassan Mohammed Zurmi, at the occasion of Zamfara Day at the ongoing 35th Kaduna International Trade Fair, said efforts were in top gear to boost trade and investment between the state government and Bank of Industry.
He said: “Under the arrangement each of the parties will contribute N1 billion totaling N2 billion to be disbursed to small and medium enterprises. In the same vein, the state government is also making adequate arrangement with the Bank of Agriculture in raising the sum of N2 billion to be disbursed to small and medium farmers, especially women in agriculture.
“The state government is also making arrangements with the Central Bank of Nigeria through the micro, small and medium enterprises development agency where the state government intends to access N2 billion as first circle to be disbursed with particular emphasis on women owned enterprises and small and medium enterprises. In the same vein, the state government has developed a micro-credit scheme for retiring civil servants in the state aimed at providing soft loans to them for entrepreneurship development which would be launched within this year.”
The governor further revealed that even though the state is agro-based, geological survey and research carried out by the state Ministry of Environment and Solid Minerals Development in conjunction with the Federal Department of Geological Survey showed that the state is endowed with numerous solid minerals deposits in commercial quantity, which include metallic and non-metallic minerals such as gold, columbite, kaolin, quartz, granites, zircon and gemstones, etc.
He said the abundance of these solid minerals in the state had attracted local and international attention with regard to mining and exploration of the vast deposits in the state.
