Thursday, May 31, 2007

Ching'ambo advises entrepreneurs on financial borrowing

Ching'ambo advises entrepreneurs on financial borrowing
By Kabanda Chulu
Thursday May 31, 2007 [04:00]

LLOYDS Financial Services director professor Lloyd Ching'ambo has urged local entrepreneurs to formulate ways of packaging project proposal information for them to access funding from financial institutions. And Prof Ching'ambo said his institution was looking at possibilities of setting up venture capital funds as a way of mobilising funds to cater for the informal sector.

Featuring on MUVI Television programme titled Zambian Business-way of life on Tuesday, Prof Ching'ambo said it was not easy to access funding in Zambia because it was a growing market.

"But more often we do not know how to package ourselves when looking for funds to borrow and finance the projects. Despite having good ideas, we still do not know how to access the funds, others just want money without putting anything in place," Prof Ching'ambo said.

"Also our local entrepreneurs should understand that registering a company is one thing and getting to work is another because some people can get the loans but do not really understand the kind of business they want to get involved in hence failing to progress."

He also urged Zambian entrepreneurs to consider joint partnerships when embarking on business ventures. Prof. Ching'ambo said his company was looking at establishing venture capital funds specifically for the informal sector.

"To develop any economy we need to groom and develop the informal sector so that they grow and succeed in whatever they are doing, so we are looking at possibilities of mobilising resources and funds that will be spread among the key players in this sector," Prof Ching'ambo said.

Labels: , ,

posted by MrK @ 11:25 PM

1 Comments:

At 11:38 PM , Blogger MrK said...

There is a big need for banks/lenders/angels investors to get on the same page with entrepreneurs. However, this should be a huge growth sector. Considering the tiny number of official businesses, getting informal businesses to step up their operations has an enormous potential for expansion.

There should be business incubators (to use the jargon) to help startup businesses with the various processes of getting financing, administration, taxes, and everything else that could prove a hurdle in setting up a business.

Starting a business is a very different process than running one, and not every individual entrepreneur is equally good at every stage of the business (actually, very few are).

So, there should be a lot more official support for entrepeneurs and companies, including from the state, because these companies are what the real economy is all about.

To quote the Wikipedia, " In the EU, SMEs comprise approximately 99% of all firms and employ between them about 65 million people. ". That is the order the government has to start thinking about.

Too often, SMEs are considered 'small fry', but because of their numbers, they are the actual economy. This is where foreign companies should go to when they need support services, etc.

 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home