Exciting times for SMEs in Zambia as Pangaea ADD Capital, a leading SME financier in the region, and the Trade and Development Bank through its subsidiary the Trade and Development Fund announced a $2 million facility to improve SME financing. Pangaea ADD Capital is a financial institution that specializes in supply chain finance with the core offering of invoice discounting, order finance and SME loans and have a proven track record as a supply chain finance specialist says this facility will see the firm reach an additional 50 to 100 SMEs in the first year.
In an event marking this amazing milestone Pangaea ADD Capital Chief Executive Officer, Diana Kabaila, said the $2 million facility from the Trade and Development Fund will enable SMEs, especially those in marginalized sectors not only have quick access financing but even more critically to have it at affordable cost. She also stated Pangaea ADD Capital has streamlined its processes to allow the quick and prudent processing of loan applications to ensure a prudent and effective disbursement of funding such AS the one obtained from the Trade Development Fund. She furthermore went on to say through the facility provided by the trade development bank, Pangaea ADD Capital will not only be able to serve between 50 to 100 more SMEs in the first year of the loan but also broaden its service to other SMEs, including more female-led businesses and those that employ youths, which still often face challenges accessing traditional financing.
Speaking at the event, Gloria Mamba, who is the Executive Director of Trade and Development Fund also announced that in addition to the funding facility the Trade and Development Fund will also provide an additional $30 000 towards capacity building. She expressed her excitement for the collaboration with Pangaea ADD Capital and said the fund will be expanding into other critical parts of the value chain should this partnership with Pangaea ADD Capital be successful. The Trade and Development Fund focusses on providing innovative financing solutions through blended finance, project development funds and technical assistance as well as capacity building to a range of players that are traditionally excluded from the economic mainstream and looks especially at women and youth led entities.
Minister of Small and Medium Enterprise Development, Elias Mubanga, was excited by this great initiative which will directly support the efforts of the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise Development. He also said he is grateful for this initiative which addresses the challenge of access to finance which is faced by a lot of small and medium enterprises. He further urged more funds to be channeled towards agricultural focused enterprises as this not only creates employment but also improves food security in the country. The minister also was very happy that part of the financing was also going to be channeled towards capacity building as this is another key area that is a challenge to SMEs.
Hon. Elias Mubanga also stressed the importance of such an initiative for SMEs as they account for 80% of the employed population in the country. This $2 million SME financing deal is a significant milestone for small and medium-sized enterprises looking to grow and expand their businesses. This partnership between the Trade and Development Fund and Pangaea ADD Capital will undoubtedly create new opportunities for growth, innovation, and job creation for Small and Medium Enterprises in the country.