$49.8m FIRIP to benefit 1.8 million people across Zambia
CHOMBA MUSIKA
Lusaka
A CLOSE to US$50 million project has been launched as part of Government’s commitment to promoting inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.
The ambitious US$49.8 million Financial Inclusion for Resilience and Innovation Project (FIRIP) is expected to benefit 1.8 million people across Zambia.
The FIRIP was launched yesterday by Government in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane said the project is in tandem with Government’s recognition that financial inclusion spurs economic empowerment.
Dr Musokotwane said financial inclusion also helps smallholder farmers to invest assuredly in their harvests and other enterprises with room to innovate and expand.
He said this in a speech read for him by Accountant General Nsandi Manza during the launch of the programme.
“The project will provide the rural community and the underprivileged with access to finance services.
“The project is aimed at ensuring inclusive, resilient and sustainable economic development through increased access to finance, especially to the underserved and unbanked,” Dr Musokotwane said.
The programme focuses on smallholder farmers, micro, small and medium enterprises and women and youths who remain disproportionately excluded from the formal finance.
Dr Musokotwane said the project highlights Government’s commitment to inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.
He said while financial inclusion is a critical enabler of economic empowerment, access alone is not enough.
“Financial solutions must be adapted to local realities, responsive to climate risks and designed to empower communities,” Dr Musokotwane said.
He commended IFAD for its steadfast partnership with Government over the years, stating that this collaboration hugely contributed to uplifting the lives of numerous Zambians.
And IFAD country director Edith Kirumba said the project will increase access to finance, especially to the underserved and the unbanked, who are about 40 percent.
“Even with all the interventions that we have in the rural areas, we still have about 40 percent of rural people being unbanked.
This is one of the areas the project seeks to address,” Ms Kirumba said.
Ministry of Finance and National Planning Acting Permanent Secretary for economic management and finance Akapelwa Imwiko said rural areas still lag behind in access to investment finance.
Mr Imwiko said rural enterprises struggle with the effects of droughts and floods, and that “these climate challenges demanded innovative financial solutions that only expanded access to finance”.
