By JUDITH NAMUTOWE
INDO Zambia Bank (IZB) will this year disburse more than K300 million worth of loans under its micro-credit lending scheme aimed at helping women’s groups in the country.
The loans will be disbursed to 85 women’s self-help groups, which will translate into more than 1,700 beneficiaries under the scheme aimed at enhancing women empowerment.
. Wina
Vice-President Inonge Wina said at the ceremony hosted by IZB in Lusaka yesterday that financial service providers needed to develop and put in place strategies that would serve diverse markets with particular focus on the urban disadvantaged and rural populations.
This required paying more attention to understand the opportunities in the Zambian market and equally appreciating the challenges of the micro, small and medium enterprises as well as women in business.
“I call upon other banks to join IBZ to come up with similar initiatives so that the coverage of the scheme is extended to other parts of the country to include the urban disadvantaged and rural women,” Ms Wina said.
“Banks should also develop tailor-made products on similar lines for the youth, both in urban and rural areas.”
The Vice-President was elated to note that the innovative scheme was a desirable shift from the traditional loan schemes that had for a long time characterised traditional banking models in Zambia which target the higher end of the market.
“Under this new approach, I see that women beneficiaries have increased to over 2,000 from the maiden number of 940 women in 2011,” she said.
Ms Wina said financial inclusion continued to be a challenge regardless of the positive economic performance that the country had recorded.
Despite the entry of new banks and expansion of products and services by market players, there are several parts of the country where formal financial services were still unavailable.
IBZ managing director Shankardas Gupta said the scheme answered the Government and the Bank of Zambia (BoZ)’s continued calls for financial inclusion that focused on the grassroots.
Mr Gupta said the initiative supplemented the Government’s efforts in poverty reduction and employment creation as the beneficiaries were empowered with sustainable self-employment.
