Many Hanga Umurimu projects are on track and will contribute highly to reducing the rate of unemployment and eradicating poverty, the Minister for Trade and Industry has said.Francois Kanimba also commended the programme, saying it is making a big contribution towards national development.Hanga Umurimo is a programme which aims at creating more than 200 000 off-farm jobs annually through facilitating viable projects to access capital from financial institutions. Kanimba was speaking in Nyamagabe District on Wednesday after meeting the business community, representatives of financial institutions as well as beneficiaries of the scheme in the district.The minister, who visited some projects that benefited from the programme, said it is clear that the focus had been put on medium-sized companies which resulted in the creation of many jobs. “Many of these projects relate to processing factories, which means they are creating many jobs for the unemployed. People have shifted from smaller activities like small retail shops to a more beneficial approach of setting up small and medium enterprises,” Kanimba said.ChallengesConsolée Mukarutesi, who has a unique business idea told The New Times that she is yet to get people to sponsor her coffee wine making project though it was selected as the best in the Southern Province. “I am still waiting for a loan,” she said, as she appealed for support to secure the Rwf 50 million loan to implement her business.Minister Kanimba said that the reluctance of some banks to offer loans to some competitive projects is slowing them.He noted that in some cases beneficiaries got less money than what they have requested, thus affecting their plans. “The government will continue to engage financial institutions to make sure that all needed funds are availed,” Kanimba vowed.“We cannot accept well-thought ideas to fail only because all the needed funds had not been availed.”Those successful projects qualify for loans of between 70 per cent and 75 percent from the Business Development Fund (BDF). BDF is a government-owned fund established in every district to fund enterprises.
