By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA  –
THE Private Enterprise Programme–Zambia (PEPZ) has partnered with Total Zambia to help boost capacity of local suppliers in the country.
This will strengthen the ability of the company’s 200 local suppliers countrywide to enable them to provide products and services Total Zambia may require to keep its operations running smoothly.
PEPZ team leader Bayo Akindeinde said the partnership with Total Zambia would ensure that Zambian entrepreneurs had the best opportunities to succeed in their businesses.
“PEPZ is about inclusive growth, so our partnership with Total Zambia will ensure that Zambian entrepreneurs have the best opportunity to succeed in business and after having been qualified, to supply one of the most recognised fuel brands in Zambia.
“In doing this, we are achieving our aim of creating employment and growing the economy in an inclusive way,” Mr Akindeinde said.
This is according to a statement released in Lusaka yesterday.
PEPZ joined Total suppliers, ranging from engineering to cleaning services at workshops in Lusaka and Ndola this week, to explain how the programme works and how it plans to create 40,000 new jobs in Zambia by 2019, 40 per cent of which will be for women.
The PEPZ’s business linkages component aims to help small businesses participate in the supply chains of large established companies in all the sectors.
Total Zambia is one of the large anchor companies with which PEPZ is working to support the local supply chain.
Total general secretary Patrick Chiluba said the company would continue supporting local entrepreneurs through the procurement of their products and services.
“At Total Zambia we believe in procuring as much as possible from local suppliers,” Mr Chiluba said.