By HELEN ZULU –

ZAMBIA is set to benefit from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) foundation project focusing on girls’ economic empowerment through career and skills mentoring, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and internships.
The foundation is a charitable trust set up through the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and is the single channel for LSEG’s charitable giving.
It focuses on initiatives aimed at helping young and disadvantaged people to reach their full potential, through the development of life skills and business enterprise.
Zambia emerged top among two other countries which include Kenya and South Africa after LSEG employees voted on a United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) project to work with for three years.
The project would be called ‘Zambian Girls 2030’.
This is according to a statement released by first secretary for press and public relations at the Zambian High Commissioner in London,  Abigail Chaponda.
LSEG chief executive officer Xavier Rolet said the project focused on girl’s economic empowerment and that the programme would provide girls with the professional training, mentoring and networks they needed to succeed.
“As part of the partnership’s first act, we gave every LSEG employee the opportunity to vote on which UNICEF project our support will focus on and workers were asked to select from projects in Kenya, South Africa and Zambia.
“Today, we are delighted to inform you that “Zambian Girls 2030” came top in our poll,” he said.
Mr Rolet said the project would contribute to a stronger education, health and economic outcomes for girls and women and ensure a healthier, more prosperous, and more inclusive future.
He said the programme would provide girls with the professional training, mentoring and networks they needed to succeed by enrolling 11,200 Zambian girls in school-level career and skill clubs.
It would also encourage the participation of 800 of these girls in career and skill camps and enrolling 300 girls into a career internship programme.
Mr Rolet said the economic empowerment of girls and women not only positively impacted on their own lives, but also acted as a catalyst to wider sustainable development.
LSEG has noted that Zambia has experienced steady economic growth in recent years, with notable gains of economic empowerment for girls and women and this formed a basis to vote a Zambian project to benefit from the project.