By 
The International Trade Centre (ITC) and Access Bank have entered into a three-year partnership to support small and medium-sized enterprises across 14 African countries, including Zambia, through improved access to finance, business skills and markets.
The partnership, formalised through a memorandum of understanding, brings together the expertise of the United Nations small business agency and the pan-African bank’s network across the continent.
The initiative covers Zambia, Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Tanzania.
This is according to a joint statement issued in Lusaka on Wednesday.
Read more: Access Bank wins big at Euromoney Awards
African small businesses account for most of the continent’s jobs but often face difficulties accessing financing and markets needed to expand, the organisations said.
The statement indicated that over the next three years, the partnership will focus on job creation through small and medium-sized enterprises, access to finance, particularly for women- and youth-owned businesses, and SME sustainability.
It will also support capacity building, including digital trade skills, as well as improved access to markets through initiatives aimed at promoting intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“Access to finance is the biggest barrier to trade faced small businesses across Africa. We’re working with Access Bank to tackle this challenge and accompany the enterprises as we equip them with the knowledge, networks and market connections they need to grow,” ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said.
The pilot phase, running until June 2027, will focus on a group of small businesses in Ghana, with women-led enterprises prioritised.
The programme will use ITC’s existing digital learning tools and training-of-trainers programmes delivered in coordination with staff from Access Africa Office, which coordinates Access Bank’s African subsidiaries.
The partners aim to expand the programme from 2027 to additional countries and programmes, including advanced training on sustainability standards and digital marketplace tools.
“We see every day that finance alone does not get a small business to scale. It is the combination of capital, market access and trade-ready skills that makes the difference,” Seyi Kumapayi, Executive Director, African Subsidiaries at Access Bank, said.
“Together, we are starting with women-led enterprises and small businesses in Ghana, with the ambition to scale intra-African trade and deepen financial inclusion across Africa,” he said.
Access Bank operates across Africa, with more than 700 branches across 25 countries on three continents and more than 63 million customers.
The partnership is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on gender equality, decent work and economic growth, and industry, innovation and infrastructure.
WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.
Comments