By NOEL IYOMBWA
SMALL and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been the most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Zanaco chief credit risk officer Kalengo Simukoko has said.
Mr Simukoko said ZANACO has embarked on a campaign to support the rebuilding of Zambia by empowering local tailors in the SMEs bracket.
He said the initiative was sustainable and would build a revolving fund from which the tailors would be able to access funds for their businesses.
Mr Simukoko said that 30,000 masks has been produced and that 500 women led-business had already benefitted from the project.
He said the masks would be given to ZANACO Xpress agents and XAPAY merchants in the continued efforts to support them with protective equipment.
And Financial Sector Deepening Zambia (FSD Zambai) Chief Executive officer, Betty Wilkinson said her organisation had embarked on several projects to support SMEs, particularly those that engage women and the differently-abled.
She said that ZSD has partnered with other organisations to create opportunities to replace lost sales during the Covid-19 pandemic using sustainable financing innovations.
Ms Wilkinson said that FSD Zambia supported the tailoring project by providing a one off working capital facility of about 60,000 British pounds for purchase of all the raw materials and technical expertise required to produce 60,000 face masks.
