The Zambian government, through the National Technology Business Centre (NBTC), has unveiled the National Technology Business Fund, aimed at boosting the productive capacity of local technology companies.
NTBC board chairperson Stephen Muliokela said several Zambian companies had the potential to produce quality goods locally, but were faced with financing challenges because commercial banks' lending rates were too high.
The NTBC is a wing under the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry meant to provide a source of funding to technologically inclined Zambian companies involved mainly in manufacturing. This funding is cheaper than if they were to obtain it via the financial market.
According to the NTBC, it was only by establishing such funds that Zambian companies can overcome the challenge of filling the gaps occupied by ICT imports from SA, China and Europe.
By accessing money on a soft loan basis, local companies will be empowered, allowing them to be more innovative. This would also create employment, said Muliokela.
“The fund will help upscale production to commercial levels,” said Muliokela. He pointed out that while most Zambian companies were mainly involved in producing for the local market, exploiting the export market presented several challenges, including failure to meet quality and production-level requirements.
The NTBC is therefore viewed as a tool that would help address challenges faced by local companies, which include limited access to suitable business financing, obsolete equipment, poor infrastructure and limited market access.
Muliokela, however, said local companies were struggling because of unfairly excessive competition from the unregulated importation of cheap ICT products for Zambia's fledgling industry.
“The fund was a promise of an innovative and technologically healthy Zambia, and was just one of several products that would be rolling out to promote technological transfer and innovation,” said NTBC director Mukombo Jonathan Tambatamba.
The Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM), an association promoting the local manufacturing industry, said a number of Zambian products from the manufacturing sector were of poor quality because the companies were using outdated technologies in the production process.
ZAM president Chance Kabaghe said the fund would increase productivity through the use of appropriate technologies.
He said Zambian companies were still using inefficient and high-cost technology, resulting in low productivity and poor quality products.
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