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The Zambia National Marketeers Credit Association (ZANAMACA) has called on government to channel part of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) towards marketeers, arguing that their empowerment was key to boosting local commerce and national development.
ZANAMACA president, Mupila Kameya, said on Wednesday that 2.5 percent of every CDF allocation should be dedicated to a revolving loan facility for informal traders.
“The establishment of a Marketeers’ CDF would provide critical financial support for marketeers, facilitating access to loans for business expansion, stock acquisition and other entrepreneurial activities,” Kameya said.
He proposed a group-lending model in which loans would be disbursed to groups of five marketeers, explaining that this approach would encourage collective responsibility, peer support and shared learning, while improving repayment rates and fostering business growth.
Kameya stressed that sustained investment in the informal economy was essential for job creation, poverty reduction and inclusive growth.
“Marketeers remain the backbone of local commerce, and by providing them with targeted financial empowerment, we can transform livelihoods and accelerate national development,” he said.
The ZANAMACA president further commended the United Party for National Development (UPND) government for strides made over the past four years in supporting the informal economy.
He said the interventions had improved access to financing, training and infrastructure development, thereby empowering marketeers and other small-scale operators.
“In the past four years, the UPND government has made several strides in supporting the informal economy, particularly focusing on marketeers, traders, small-scale farmers, bus and taxi drivers, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” Kameya said.
He noted that partnerships with financial institutions had created tailor-made financial products for informal traders, while training programmes in business management, financial literacy and entrepreneurship had improved their skills.
On infrastructure, Kameya highlighted that the upgrading and maintenance of markets had enhanced safety and created more conducive environments for trading.
He also commended government efforts to promote cooperatives among marketeers, saying these initiatives foster collective bargaining, shared resources and better market access.
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