AfDB offers $750M for SMSEs loans

GOVERNMENT will soon finalise its internal processes which will allow Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMSEs) start accessing the US$750 million financing facility offered by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Finance Minister, Bwalya Ng’andu, has said.

Dr Ng’andu said that the credit facility would be unlocked once the internal processes were completed. He said during a consultative dialogue held at the Ministry of Finance Headquarters in Lusaka this week that the credit financing would positively contribute to stability achievement. Zambia has a sustainable lending limit of US$750 million at the African Development Bank for both sovereign and non-sovereign borrowers for 2019. The minister has therefore urged the private sector to take advantage of the facility to achieve stability, sustain their growth, and become competitive in the domestic and international market place. “This is a honeycomb of empowerment for Zambia’s small and medium scale enterprises,” Dr Ng’andu said. Dr Ng’andu took the opportunity to urge the AfDB to continue their close collaboration with relevant public and private sector organisations to accelerate the performance the private sector as envisaged in the 2017-2021 country strategy paper. “You need to help us to strengthen business acceleration capacity for small and medium enterprises so that our people in the private sector can access the US$750 million sustainable lending facility. The Minister also requested the support of the AfDB and other development partners to assist Zambia in returning to fiscal health and achieving sustained fiscal consolidation. At the same meeting, AfDB Country Manager, Mary Monyau, reaffirmed that a further US$50 million lending facility was available through the Development Bank of Zambia. “I bring you warm greetings and wishes of glad tidings for the Zambian economy from the President of the AfDB, the management, and the staff at our headquarters in Abidjan, Ivory Coast,” Ms Monyau said. Ms Monyau said many international development financial institutions were keenly following the proceedings between AfDB and Government. This, she said, was because they considered the Development Bank of Zambia as a critical factor in demonstrating the effectiveness of development finance and boosting private sector growth and competitiveness. Ms Monyau also said a facility of US$59 million was available for the re-development of Mpulungu Harbour, a Great Lakes Region Port in Zambia’s Northern Province. She also confirmed that a grant of US$30 million from the Netherlands was also at arm’s length for the project to which news the Minister responded that, “we will do everything possible to ensure a quick start of re-development works at Mpulungu Harbour.”