Sokoto plans three micro finance banks, SMEs’ bill

The Sokoto State Government says it plans to establish three micro finance banks as well as a small and medium enterprises development agency to promote entrepreneurship among the people of the state.

Speaking when he received members of the Small and Medium Scale Rice Millers Association in Sokoto Tuesday, Governor Aminu Tambuwal said the Sokoto State Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency Bill had been presented to the state House of Assembly for passage into law.

A statement by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Imam Imam, on Tuesday, stated that Tambuwal gave the names of the proposed three micro finance banks as Giginya, Fodiyo and Gudale.

The governor explained that there had been a decisive shift of emphasis from the “lavish capital intensive, large scale industrial projects to small and medium scale industries” because of the latter’s enormous potential for rapid and sustainable development.

“Apart from their potential for ensuring a self-reliant industrialisation, in terms of ability to rely largely on local raw materials, small scale enterprises are also in a better place to boost employment, guarantee a more even distribution of development in the state, especially the rural areas,” he added.

The governor said it had become imperative for the government to set up the banks and SOSMEDA because of the shortage of competent managerial skills due to the inability of owners to employ the services of experts among small and medium scale enterprises in the state.

Similarly, Tambuwal lamented that the small scale entrepreneurs were hampered by their inability to access funds and new technology leading to reliance on obsolete methods of production.

He equally lamented the inability of those agencies in Sokoto to cope with increased competition in the industry due to lack of capacity and high cost of raw materials, which affected their productivity and profitability.