[{"bbox": [99, 75, 1160, 343], "category": "Text", "text": "at least three categories with similar constraints and support needs: (i) Growth oriented micro enterprises, which are opportunity driven micro businesses on the path to incremental growth. These may be formal or informal, but are mostly informal and employ replicative business models, serving highly local markets or value chains. (ii) Dynamic small businesses, operating in traditional bread and butter industries, including light manufacturing (e.g. wood and textile production), light engineering and metal fabrication, transport and logistics and services (e.g. building and construction, restaurants, etc.). They deploy existing products, proven business models, seek to grow through market extension, incremental innovations and have moderate growth and scale potential, and (iii) Increasing numbers of high growth ventures, deploying disruptive business models, targeting large addressable markets. They have high growth and scale potential, and are typically led by ambitious entrepreneurs, often young men and women, with significant risk tolerance. They have the potential to create large numbers of decent jobs in the green economy."}, {"bbox": [99, 353, 1160, 567], "category": "Text", "text": "The financial system in Zambia is relatively underdeveloped. It is dominated by commercial banks, which account for 67% of total financial sector assets. Banks in Zambia are traditionally averse to risks, do not have recent experience in lending to MSMEs and make a large part of their profit from buying government debt, which has in turn a crowding out effect on the private sector. The non-bank financial institution (NBFI) sector is not diversified and is dominated by pension funds. Other NBFIs include building societies, microfinance institutions (MFIs), leasing companies, development finance institutions, and FX bureaus. The NBFI sector is currently witnessing a rise in new Fintech start-ups that extend SME finance through e-lending platforms. This nascent MSME finance sub-sector shows great promise for innovating MSME financing."}, {"bbox": [99, 577, 1160, 713], "category": "Text", "text": "Zambia's fiscal space is constrained by slow economic growth and low productivity, a high negative fiscal balance, which reached -14% of GDP in 2020, and elevated public debt. Zambia's public and publicly guaranteed debt rose to 104% of GDP in 2020.⁸ After increasing rapidly from 2004 to 2014, economic growth declined quickly and is likely to remain low over the medium term. Given these challenges, the private sector must take a leading role in driving investments and growth in the economy."}, {"bbox": [99, 722, 1160, 990], "category": "Text", "text": "Against this context and in view of the challenges and opportunities related to climate change, President Hakainde Hichilema confirmed that inclusive, sustainable and green economic growth and job creation for the youth are among his key priorities. The economic development strategy of the new government strives to move away from an economic model, based on unsustainable extraction and exploitation minerals and natural resources, and to reduce Zambia's dependence from the export of raw materials. The GRZ envisages instead to increase local transformation capacities and value addition. Working on macroeconomic stability, improved public financial management (PFM) and creating a friendly business enabling environment and investment climate, are agreed pre-conditions. These priorities are also reflected in the structure of the new Government, with the creation of the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment (MoGEE), the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MoSME), as well as a strong Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MoFNP), as well as in the change in leadership at the Central Bank."}, {"bbox": [99, 999, 1160, 1268], "category": "Text", "text": "The recently adopted Eighth National Development Plan 2022-2026 (8NDP) has 1) Economic Transformation and Job Creation and 2) Environmental Sustainability among its four strategic development priorities. It also recognises that partnering with the private sector is the foundation for successful transformation of the economy and moving towards Zambia's goal of becoming a prosperous Middle Income Country (MIC), as set out in the National Vision 2030. The 8NDP identifies the traditional sectors, such as agriculture, mining, and tourism as part of a broad based strategy. However, it puts further emphasis on the importance of diversification into higher value sectors, including manufacturing, ICT, services, science and technology as crucial to delivering goals of the Vision 2030. This would need to come along with further development of enabling sectors, such as energy, transport and logistics and digital services. In this context, SMEs are recognised as important drivers of growth and job creation, especially for women and youth."}, {"bbox": [99, 1278, 1160, 1518], "category": "Text", "text": "The 8NDP intends to scale up women's economic empowerment programmes, as well as affirmative action for women, as part of its objective of reducing inequalities. Women experience limited access to finance, lower digitalisation, reduced ownership of capital assets and are strongly impaired by the societal and traditional role of women, still deeply rooted into Zambia society. There is strong evidence that, when being supported, women can be great entrepreneurs and achieve significant growth performances. Women are active in all traditional sectors, ranging from mining to manufacturing, to trade and agri-processing, and to services. This action contributes to the EU Gender Action Plan (GAP) III, and to its key areas of engagement \"Promoting economic and social rights and empowering girls and women\" and \"Addressing the challenges and harnessing the opportunities offered by the green transition and the digital transformation\"."}, {"bbox": [99, 1528, 1160, 1611], "category": "Text", "text": "The GRZ and the Zambian people are aware that climate change and variability of weather patterns have become major threats to sustainable development of the country, and have taken related commitments and engagements under the climate action plan. Zambia's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement on Climate"}, {"bbox": [99, 1643, 827, 1666], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁸ Data from Mintos.com and Zambia Economic Outlook, African Development Bank 2021"}, {"bbox": [1050, 1666, 1158, 1690], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 26"}]