The Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), Hajia Fatimah Shinkafi, has unveiled a three-pronged funding strategy to unlock the untapped potential of Nigeria’s mining sector.
Hajiya Shinkafi stated this at a webinar themed “Unlocking Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Potentials Through the Capital Market”, organised by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF).
Represented by her technical adviser, Abdulmajeed Oyeyemi Amussah, she explained that the strategy targets early-stage mining projects that are currently unattractive to commercial lenders.
“The SMDF is deploying three distinct funding vehicles: Growth Fund, Opportunities Fund, and Research Fund,” she emphasised.
READ ALSO:NGO Urges Nasarawa Women into Mining, Sustainable Agriculture
The Executive Secretary noted that the Growth Fund will stimulate early exploration and provide project development facilities, while the Opportunities Fund will accelerate project development and optimise existing mining operations.
Hajia Shinkafi added that the Research Fund would support enabling infrastructure and policy innovation to create a favourable ecosystem for investment.
She further said that many projects in Nigeria are stuck at Stage 1 and 2 exploration and feasibility, which limits their attractiveness to financiers.
“Despite over ₦10 billion being available for mining development, credit distribution remains skewed, with agriculture and transportation getting the bulk of bank financing, and mining barely making a dent,” She noted.
Also some experts emphasised the potential of solid minerals to transform Nigeria’s economy.
Bola Ajomale, representing the Nigeria Securities and Exchange Commission, noted that solid minerals are critical for both the capital market and economic development.
“The potential in the country is critical not just for the capital market but for economic development,” Ajomale emphasised.
Also speaking at the forum, the Managing Director and CEO of NASD Plc, Eguarekhide Longe, stressed that a bold capital market strategy is needed to unlock Nigeria’s solid minerals wealth.
He noted the strategy involves leveraging the capital market to mobilise strategic investment into the sector through the National Digital Securities Platform (N-DSP), a blockchain-based platform.
Mr. Longe highlighted that the NASD/SMDF partnership is focusing on multi-asset security tokenisation to unlock capital for early-stage mining and support exploration, processing, and production.
He emphasised that Nigeria’s solid minerals sector remains underexploited despite its massive potential to contribute to GDP and create jobs.