ESTHER MSETEKA, Lusaka
GOVERNMENT has urged micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to grow their businesses into a new generation of companies that can positively contribute to the country’s social and economic growth.
Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Margaret Mwanakatwe said a thriving entrepreneurial culture has the capacity to harness and facilitate the development of local businesses.
Speaking when she officiated at the grand finale of the 2016 edition of the Nyamuka Zambia business plan competition on Friday, Mrs Mwanakatwe said the country needs ambitious SMEs who can innovate and take risks in a quest to expand their businesses.
In March last year, the UKaid-funded Private Enterprise Programme Zambia (PEPZ) launched Nyamuka Zambia, a business plan competition that is transforming Zambia’s entrepreneurial landscape by inspiring ambitious businessmen and women to raise their game and take their ideas to the next level, in the process creating employment and driving the economy forward.
“The need for Zambians to own successful businesses and complement foreign investment in our country cannot be overemphasised,” Mrs Mwanakatwe said.