By CHATULA KANGALI –

ZAMBIAN Breweries (ZB) has launched a new initiative programme called Mama Mpapa aimed at providing business skills to small scale traders.
ZB Corporate Affairs Director Ezekiel Sekele said in a statement that the new programme is aimed at developing and nurturing small retailers, manual distribution centres and retailer taverns through targeted skills development.
He said the programme would create an enabling environment for small businesses within urban and peri-urban areas across Zambia.
Mr Sekela said retailers would receive free accredited business training which would earn them redemption points upon completion before qualifying to the next programme.
He said the course will help them to benefit from strategies tailored to improve infrastructure, environment, health, water and education support.
“Small retailers and manual distribution centres are critical to our business. They have direct contact with a large section of our population and may even be thought of as our middle men, in a sense.
That’s why we’re excited about Mama Mpapa programme. The transfer of skills is necessary for their success.
Their success is our success and the community’s success. We are looking forward to replicating the success that we experience in Lusaka in other regions across the nation,”he said.
He said ZB was this year targeting to train 600 small retailers and that 3,000 would be trained in the next five years.
Mr Sekele said some of the modules to be covered include basic business principles, personal money management, running my beer business and responsible trading.