'Accelerate product diversification'
ZAMBIA has an opportunity to accelerate diversi cation in production and export of non-traditional commodities, Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary Kayula Siame has said.
Ms Siame said this could be achieved through product and market diversi cation, value addition, and enhanced productivity at rm level.
Additionally, she said, enhanced contribution of non-traditional exports was important.
She was speaking in Lusaka when she launched the small medium enterprise competitiveness survey report and export marketing training.
Ms Siame said the report had con rmed that 88 percent of employment was generated from small mediam Enterprise Sector (SMEs) and formed the backbone of businesses in Zambia, so there was need to improve the SMEs in the country.
She said small and medium enterprises needed to access the available markets such the intercontinental free trade area to market their products.
“We have opened up our markets, we have Africa intercontinental free trade areas, tripartite free trade area and the COMESA and SADC but how are the SMEs getting access to these markets and show case their products,” she said.
Ms Siame said SMEs were producing but their products were not going to the necessary markets where they could generate wealth and create more jobs.
She directed the ministry and the Zambia Development Agency director (ZDA) to ensure that the survey was institutionalised and undertaken annually.
And secondly, she said, there was need to do a deep dive in other sector as well to see how they were performing.
Meanwhile ZDA director of policy and planning Cosam Ngoma said the survey looked at the contribution that SMEs made to the economy development.
He said that SMEs contributed about 70 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 88 percent of employment in Zambia.
“Small and medium sized enterprises in Zambia play an important role in production, employment and income of the country.
SMEs also ll a key role in society, as they tend to employ a large share of the most vulnerable segments of the workforce,” he said.
Mr Ngoma said Government was implementing a private sector led economic development strategy where the government sets a platform in teams of policy framework where they increase private sector participation in economic development.