Mon, 20 Feb 2017 13:17:37 +0000
By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
GOVERNMENT will before the end of this month sign an entrepreneurship fund with the African Development Bank (AfDB) worth US$75 million, Minister of Finance Felix Mutati has announced.
Mr Mutati said the fund would purely be used to support entrepreneurs in growing their businesses.
He revealed this at the public discussion on Zambia’s economic recovery programme in Lusaka recently.
“Before the end of February, with the African Development Bank, we are going to sign US$75 million purely to support enterprise.
“It is an entrepreneur fund that will be used purely for people to be able to grow their businesses, so the support is coming and we keep pushing,” he said.
Mr Mutati also said Government had discussed with the cooperation of Rabobank to settle up a credit guarantee scheme with an initial capital of US$20 million.
“The development institutions have said they will multiply that as soon as it is set up and the whole intention is to cushion the risk perimeters for the small person that wants to borrow.
“So we shall guarantee 50 percent of the collateral when you want to borrow and this scheme will be operational from the 1st April 2017,” he said.
Mr Mutati said the scheme was aimed at engaging the private sector in creating jobs and grow the economy.
