Overview
This national policy sets a framework for developing Zambia’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which account for the majority of businesses and a significant share of GDP and employment. It adopts updated MSME definitions based on turnover, investment, employment, and legal status, and presents a situation analysis covering access to finance, technology and innovation gaps, weak entrepreneurial culture, decentralization of services, coordination challenges, business environment constraints, market access barriers, limited business development services, inadequate infrastructure, and high informality. The policy’s vision is for prosperous MSMEs that contribute to wealth and job creation. Objectives focus on sector growth and diversification, innovation, technology adoption, and an integrated coordination framework. Policy measures include improving access to affordable finance, business infrastructure, value-chain participation, domestic and export markets, entrepreneurial skills, business development services, product standards, and formalisation. An implementation framework outlines roles for the MSME ministry, line ministries, local authorities, cooperating partners, and non-state actors, and references the legal environment affecting MSMEs. Monitoring and evaluation will track technical, time, and cost performance, with resource mobilisation from the national budget and cooperating partners.