By KENNEDY MUPESENI –
FUTURE-Search Zambia has since inception in 1995 trained more than 70,000 retired and serving employees in entrepreneurial skills countrywide.
The organisation was instituted by the Zambian Government to train those leaving from both public and private sectors to engage in various business ventures.
Marketing and public relations officer Patrick Shatamuka said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that Future-Search has made positive contributions to the welfare of retirees since it was introduced.
“More than 70,000 serving and those in retirement have been trained in various entrepreneurship skills in the past 20 years and they are making positive contributions to the economic development of the country,” Mr Shatamuka said.
The focus at inception was to train retirees but it was now incorporating even serving employees.
“The idea at inception was to target retirees in our programme but we are now also training those in formal employment so that by the time they retire they would have an idea of what investment or business venture they would engage in,” he said.
Changing mind set was the major catalyst to the development of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
Access to finance remained the major hindrance to the development of the SMEs in the country which could be resolved if efforts by various stakeholders to create linkages were put in place.
Recently UKAID announced plans to spend around 14 million Pounds to promote and support SME activities in the next five years which would contribute significantly to the economic growth.
The activities would be implemented by Private Enterprise-Zambia (PEP-Z ) which has since signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with four business and industrial associations in the country to develop a new business plan competition dubbed “Nyamuka Zambia”.
The four organisations include the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI), Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM), Zambia Chamber of Small and Medium Business Associations (ZCSMBA) and Bongo Hive Zambia.
