24 SMEs train on how to apply for bank loans

Mon, 29 May 2017 12:03:49 +0000

BY JACKIE MAPAPAYI

THE European Investment Bank (EIB) has trained 24 Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) in Solwezi district on how to package applications when applying for a bank loan.

The training has been conducted in conjunction with the Zambia Chamber of Small and Medium Business Association (ZACSMBA).

EIB local expert Windu Matoka said the programme will be done in North Western, Eastern, Southern, Copperbelt and Lusaka provinces in order to help entrepreneurs easily get a bank loan.

He said his institution is working with five Zambian banking institutions which will receive loans from the bank for onward lending to micro, small and medium enterprises. He said his institution has realised that most SMEs do not know how to package their applications, hence the need for the traders to undergo the training.

He said entrepreneurs needed to understand the need to get a loan and how well they can use the funds so that they make profit and pay back the loan.

He disclosed that the programme was a pilot project and was being carried out in six districts in the five provinces.