Enterprises (SMEs) in Zambia

Full Text	Pdf
Author	Alfred Nuwagaba
ISSN	2307-2466
On Pages	146-153
Volume No.	4
Issue No.	4
Issue Date	October 01, 2020
Publishing Date	October 01, 2020
Keywords	Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), gross domestic product (GDP), Economic development, Micro finance institutions (MFIs)

Abstract

It is imperative for a country to make relevant and business friendly legislation that would enable SMEs growth in the country. They contribute greatly in jobs creation and GDP. SMEs in Zambia employ 50 percent of the working class, similar to countries like Indonesia, Tanzania and Kenya. Over 90 percent of SMEs operate in the informal sector and this makes it difficult for the government to support the sub sector efficiently. So, SMEs contribution to the country�s development is not very clear. Because, majority of SMEs operate in the informal sector, attracting-funding from micro finance institutions (MFIs) is a challenge and this makes (SME) sector weak, this is test result on H0. Entrepreneurs Financial Centre (EFC) was used as a case study. This is a specialized micro finance institution that provides SMEs lending. Period considered in this research was 2012-2014. Whereas, SME loans constitute about 60 percent of EFC�s loan portfolio, the loans given out are small value ranging from USD133 with a maximum of USD 46,667. The process of acquiring these loans is cumbersome and those without security may stand no chance. This does not give borrowing appetite and thus, such a trend would keep the sector underdeveloped. Findings revealed that with an organized sector platform, SMEs contribute immensely in the development of the country which is positive result on H1. Primary and secondary data were collected through using questionnaires, interviews and observation. Data analysis was done using tables and other Microsoft applications i.e. word and excel.

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