Doing Business indaba can help grow economy – ZACCI

Fri, 14 Apr 2017 10:12:47 +0000

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

THE upcoming Ease of Doing Business Initiative (EDBI) conference in the tourist capital Livingstone will provide an opportunity for local companies to create incentives for growth of businesses in the Zambian economy, says the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI).

ZACCI president Geoffrey Sakulanda said in an interview that such opportunities provided a platform for entrepreneurs to help Government create incentives which would benefit their businesses.

“The idea of the conference is that it should examine the measures that are being taken or that can be taken by the Government to create a better environment for growth of business; that is the objective of the conference,” Mr Sakalanda said.

“Business and members should take advantage to have an open and constructive dialogue with Government and other stakeholders on how best we can create incentives for growth of businesses in Zambia,” he said.

About 400 business delegates from 30 African countries are expected to attend the 2017 8th Ease of Doing Business Initiative (EDBI) conference which Zambia is hosting in Livingstone from 15th to 19th May.

Zambia will be the 8th country to host the EDBI nonference.

The conference, to be held under the theme “Opportunities: Business Reforms for Industrialisation, Value Addition and Job Creation”, is an annual event supported by the World Bank to facilitate knowledge sharing among countries on business reforms.

Among the topics to be tackled during the conference are enhancing regional trade, key priorities in business reforms and changes to doing business methodologies, among others.

EDBI is grounded in the interest and need expressed by several African countries to learn and share information and experiences about the reforms implemented in the scope of doing business.

In August 2010, the World Bank Group, in collaboration with the Regional Multi-disciplinary Centre of Excellence (RMCE) and some governments, designed the EDBI, which has been gradually refined over the years.