ZANACO reportedly disburses K3.8 million in business loans to empower women entrepreneurs

ZANACO has reportedly provided loans totaling K3.8 million to support women across the country in initiating and expanding their businesses, fostering job creation and bolstering the economic well-being of the nation.

ZANACO Acting Chief Executive Officer, Kalengo Simukoko, said strengthening the capabilities of women in entrepreneurship at both micro and macro levels would aid businesses in addressing some of the challenges confronting the nation.

Speaking at the Women’s Entrepreneurship Access Center (WAEC) graduation ceremony in Lusaka on Tuesday, Simukoko pointed out that enhancing woman’s capacity would further grow the business environment by effectively capitalising on the opportunities they generate.

“According to UN Women, the value of informal cross-border trade in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region is estimated at US$ 17.6 billion per year,” he stated.

He added that informal cross-border trade contributed 30-40 percent to intra-SADC trade and over 70 percent of informal cross-border traders are women.

He said this demonstrated the importance of integrating women into policy responses and supporting them through initiatives such as skills development like WEAC had done.

Noting the graduation of 113 women entrepreneurs and 40 mentors from Southern, Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces who completed the AWE and Mentorpreneur Programme, Simukoko urged the graduates to embrace partnerships and also take advantage of the opportunities that come with being a ZANACO Zee woman.

“As ZANACO, we continue to support women and youths,” he said.

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