By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA –
BARCLAYS Bank Zambia has pledged to support businesses in the agriculture value chain aimed at accelerating the country’s diversification agenda.
Barclays Bank business banking director Regina Mulenga said her bank would provide support to businesses in the agriculture value chain in order for the sector to thrive.
Ms Mulenga said Barclays Bank was fully committed to supporting the diversification of the Zambian economy in an effort to reduce over dependency on the mining sector.
She said this in an interview at the Agritech Expo held in Chisamba at the weekend.
“Barclays Bank Zambia is fully committed to ensuring that it supports diversification in the Zambian economy to reduce dependency on the mining sector and give support to businesses in the agriculture value chain,” Ms Mulenga said.
She said this was the third year the bank was exhibiting at the Chisamba Agritech expo and this was aimed ensuring that its customers understood the bank’s commitment to the agriculture sector.
“Food security as well as the ability to increase agriculture exports remains the country’s priority and Barclays has placed deliberate emphasis on the agriculture sector with a mandate to support the agriculture value chain,” she said.
Ms Mulenga said the bank had disbursed about 15 per cent of its balance sheet to the agriculture sector.
She said Barclays Bank would continue to be a market leader with a strong distribution footprint supported by 51 branches, 134 automated teller machines (ATMs) and 2,773 point of sale terminals.