The largest indigenous bank in Africa’s second largest copper producer has continues to play a key role in partnering with the growth agenda especially at a time as this when recovery prospects continue to brighten. Lusaka Securities Exchange listed Zambia National Commercial Bank Plc (ISIN:ZM0000000250) on October 04 inked a EUR15 million (circa. K635 million) Agriculture Value Chain (AVC) credit line with the European Investment Bank (EIB). This will create financing and technical support opportunities to retail farmers across the Southern African nation.
The European Union remains a critical partner to Zambia’s growth efforts through facilitating partnerships as these and has continued to drive the Sustainable Development Goals – SDG agenda by promoting a green and gender equality agenda. The AVC will prioritize female smallholders in particular, the EU carried on its social media page.
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“This new partnership will unlock agriculture processing investment, create employment and unlock economic growth in Zambia in the years ahead.”
ZANACO Plc Board Chairman – Hastings Mtine
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For many years ZANACO has played a major role in the agriculture faculty of the Southern African nation through a cocktail of partnerships that have seen more small scale farmers access financing. The Plc has signed key partnerships with other cooperating partners such as the German Development Corporation to widen financing access for the sector as it seeks to maximize its agribusiness footprint in the copper producer. Zambia’s agriculture potential is evidently untapped despite successive bumper harvests that still leave latitude for growth to propel it to Africa’s bread basket status.
READ ALSO: ZANACO Plc thinks food security, in agribusiness finance partnership with German DevCo
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The K635 million Agriculture Investment Initiative just launched between the European Investment Bank and ZANACO, is a milestone in our quest for job creation and conformation of our economic diplomacy at work. #Zambia is open for business.
Zambia’s Republican President and Chief Investment Officer Hakainde Hichilema tweeted
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DEMOCRATIC DIVIDENDS OPENING ZAMBIA UP FOR BUSINESS
Zambia is evidently reaping democratic dividends from an exceptional political power transition that has signaled greater confidence from bilateral partners. The European Union delegation were in the country and met with President Hichilema to commit to supporting Zambia’s democratic agenda. The last few weeks have seen Zambia utilize its foreign policy effectively for the purposes of economic diplomacy.
Value addition remains a critical component of Zambia’s recovery agenda aligned to the new governments promise to the electorate. In 2015, the World Bank in a paper dubbed Agro Led Structural Diversification advised Zambia on agriculture being the lowest hanging fruit to boosting its agro processing potential. Zambia’s small scale farming remains the largest driver of agriculture productivity.
READ ALSO: Innovation leaps Zanaco’s 1H21 PAT to new market highs
ZANACO Plc recently announced in a SENs that it would be announcing higher than expected earnings for its 1H21 period. The big strong reliable bank is on track to record the highest watermark earnings mark, the copper producer has ever recorded in the history of the financial sector.
The Kwacha Arbitrageur