Ouagadougou: The ministry in charge of industry indicated that it had injected 12 billion 521 million 356 thousand 191 CFA francs for the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the cotton sector during the first half of 2024. 'During the first six months of the year (2024), our sector was able to record some major results such as the financing of 191 SMEs for a total amount of 1,621,356,284 FCFA,' declared the secretary general of the ministry in in charge of industry, Oumarou Barro, this Friday August 2 in Ouagadougou. Secretary General Oumarou Barro was speaking during the mid-term review of his department, where he represented Minister Serge Gnaniodem Poda. According to Mr. Barro, in addition to financing SMEs, the department has also subsidized players in the cotton sector to the tune of 10,900,000,000 FCFA. The secretary general said that the ministry also contributed to the creation of 11,367 new businesses for the benefit of the informal sector and seized 22.98 kg of gold as par t of the fight against gold fraud. These activities, carried out in a somewhat peaceful climate in terms of security, made it possible, according to Oumarou Barro, to record an indicator achievement rate of 47%. For him, this result is satisfactory due to the difficult security context. For this, he praised the resilience of all stakeholders in carrying out the various interventions. 'These results are the fruit of all the sacrifices made by everyone in a spirit of resilience,' he recognized. For the next six months, the SG also invited each actor to invest consistently in their area of ??expertise so that the sub-sectors of industry, energy, crafts and mines achieve more impactful results. at the time of the annual review. Source: Burkina Information Agency