The Raw Materials Research and Development Council,
(RMRDC), has challenged indeginous investors in the South-South geo-political
zone of the country to take advantage  of
the abundant raw materials  outside the
oil sector in their future investments.

Rivers
State Co-ordinator of the council, Mrs Felicia
Chilaka gave the  advice on Monday
in Port Harcourt at a sensitisation programme organised by the Association of
Non-Bank Micro Finance Institutions of Nigeria (ANMFIN) for stakeholders in the
South-South.

Chilaka
regretted that the oil sector had blindfolded investors from other potentials
around us which if tapped could turn to goldmine.

“We
in South-South should look around  us and
see other things apart from oil to invest”, she remarked.

She
said inspite of the fact that  fine sand
was abundant in all parts of the  zone,
we do not have any sand paper producing company in Nigeria such that all sand
papers used by huge wood industry in the country were being imported.

“Let
us think of those small things around us, nothing stops us from packaging
ordinary periwinkle  and exporting them
to countries where they are needed”, she maintained.

National
President of ANMFIN, Hon Hamid Giwa Afolabi said the institution was set up to
promote the growth of microfinance institutions and to create an all-inclusive
and influential national network of financial institutions that provide  quality and affordable microfinance services
to rural areas and low income people.

He
commended the Rivers State chapter of the body for its leading  role
amongst other chapters  in
the  country, and urged the state  government to assist the body in its plan to
develop a befitting secretariat  and to
direct the 23 local government councils to stand  for the
small farmers and traders seeking for loans from banks but have no collateral.

Afolabi
explained that microfinance if properly handled, could be a veritable
vehicle  for poverty reduction in the
country.