By ABAH ADAH
Nigerian Solid Minerals Development Fund, SMDF, and the National Association of Securities Dealers Over-the-Counter PLC, NASD-OTC, have unveiled initiatives aimed at boosting liquidity and access to funding for investments to thrive in the mining space.
Speaking on Wednesday at a NASD–SMDF Webinar, with the theme, “Unlocking Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Potentials Through the Capital Market”, the Executive Secretary, Solid Minerals Development Fund, SMDF, Hajia Fatimah Shinkafi, presented a three-pronged funding strategy targeted at unlocking the untapped potentials of Nigeria’s mining sector.
Represented by her Technical Adviser, Abdulmajeed Amussah, Shinkafi explained that the strategy targets early-stage mining projects that are currently unattractive to commercial lenders.
“SMDF is deploying three distinct funding vehicles: Growth Fund, Opportunities Fund and Research Fund,” she said.
Shinkafi 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.
According to her, the Research Fund would support enabling infrastructure and policy innovation to create a favourable ecosystem for investment.
She said 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.
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer, NASD, Mr Eguarekhide Longe, unveiled the National Digital Securities Platform, N-DSP, a blockchain-based infrastructure to support tokenised mining securities.
“Through tokenised instruments like debt, equity and mineral-backed securities, we can channel investment into exploration, production and processing, while making capital market participation more accessible and transparent,” Longe stated.
He noted that the initiative aligns with the federal government’s push for value addition, industrialisation and transition from ore exports to in-country beneficiation.
SEC’s Executive Commissioner, Mr Bola Ajomole, reinforced the urgency, stating that:“The capital market must not merely observe the mining renaissance, it must fund it.”
He revealed that over 867 mining licenses have been issued in 2025, generating N7 billion, with SEC working on mining bonds and royalty-backed securities under a revised Investment Securities Act.
Also speaking, 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, Longe stressed that a bold capital market strategy is needed to unlock Nigeria’s solid minerals wealth.
In his address, Minister of Solid Minerals Development and co-host of the webinar, Dr Dele Alake underscored the importance of a vibrant carpet market for highly capital intensive mining sector, saying “the capital market is a critical pillar in the journey toward a sustainable mining sector”.
The minister, who was represented by his Senior Adviser on Mining and Policy, Amira Waziri, said,
“It is this financing gap that today’s conversation seeks to address—by exploring how Nigeria’s capital market can serve as a channel for patient, long-term and strategic investment in the solid minerals value chain.”
NASD-OTCA Licensed Securities Exchange registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission in Nigeria, operating as an Over-the-Counter, OTC, market for unlisted securities, facilitates trading of securities of companies not listed on the main Nigerian Exchange, NGX.
On the other hand, SMDF is a Nigerian government initiative focused on unlocking financing for the mining sector to boost economic development and diversification, attract private sector investment, particularly for early-stage projects, and promote responsible mining practices. It deploys various financial instruments and invests across the mining lifecycle, from exploration to production and enabling infrastructure.
