LUSAKA, March 9 (NNN-Xinhua) — About 27,000 jobs were created by small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) in Zambia last year, the country’s government said.
It was evident that the SMEs were contributing positively to Zambian economy due to the large number of jobs they were creating, said Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Christopher Yaluma.
The SMEs, Yaluma said, were involved in various investments, adding values to raw materials, which contributed to the government’s industrialization agenda.
Zambia was now able to manufacture export products particularly in the agro-processing subsector, he said, adding that he felt optimistic about the reforms the government was implementing towards an industrialized country.
Separately, the Zambian government said that it was in support of extension of World Bank-funded projects aimed at uplifting the welfare of women and girls in the country.
Vice-President Inonge Wina said the government was willing to support the possible extension of the Girls Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihoods Support project so that more vulnerable women and girls could have access for livelihood support and secondary education.
The Zambian vice-president was speaking when she held talks with a World Bank team which is in the country for technical meetings with the government over possible additional funding for the project after the current agreement comes to an end in September 2020.
“We are delighted with the World Bank’s support to the country in various key sectors of the economy,” she said, according to a release from her office.
She further urged the gender ministry to conduct an impact evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the project.
Under the current agreement worth 65 million U.S. dollars, the project was on track to achieve its objective, according to the statement.
According to the statement, component one of the project involves support to women’s livelihoods whose target is to support 75,000 women with training, a productive grant, savings and mentoring, with about 12,748 beneficiaries having received the full package and 21,375 beneficiaries awaiting the grant.
It added that an additional 45,000 women from households under the Social Cash Transfer scheme would be added in mid-2019.
On the other hand, component two of the project is keeping girls in school whose target was to pay school fees for 25,000 vulnerable girls. — NNN-XINHUA