SMEs
ZAMBIA SME KEY FIGURES
| Citizens Economic Empowerment Since 2022 | Credit Guarantee Scheme Loans | SMEs and Farmers Benefiting | Governing Policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| K2.9 billion | K1.6 billion | 19,819 | 2023 MSME Policy |
Zambia’s Citizens Economic Empowerment Fund has empowered more than 83,000 beneficiaries since 2022, while the Zambia Credit Guarantee Scheme facilitated K1.6 billion in loans to 19,819 small and medium enterprises and farmers by end-August 2025, up from just 18 beneficiaries and K10.0 million in 2021.
Government also issued Statutory Instrument No. 45 of 2025 to give SMEs preference in public procurement, under a 2023 MSME Policy whose vision is prosperous micro, small and medium enterprises that significantly contribute to wealth and job creation.
Citizens Economic Empowerment and Credit Access
Since 2022, the New Dawn Administration has empowered over 103,000 individuals and about 9,800 micro, small and medium enterprises with a total of K2.9 billion, and more than 83,000 beneficiaries under the Citizens Economic Empowerment Fund’s Marketeer Booster, Busulu, Irrigation Support and Agriculture Mechanisation, and Project and Trade Finance loan facilities over the past four years[1]. Separately, the Zambia Credit Guarantee Scheme had benefited 19,819 small and medium enterprises and farmers by end-August 2025, compared with just 18 in 2021, facilitating loans worth K1.6 billion in total, up from K10.0 million in 2021[1].
Procurement Preference
To build the capacity of local businesses to compete fairly, retain wealth within communities, and contribute to national industrialisation, Government issued Statutory Instrument No. 45 of 2025 to give small and medium enterprises preference in public procurement[1].
Policy Framework
The Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise Development, created in September 2021, administers the Revised National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Policy, whose vision is “prosperous Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises that significantly contribute to wealth and job creation”[2]. Its general objective is to achieve sustainable growth of MSMEs to contribute to socio-economic transformation, pursued through five specific objectives: achieving a prosperous MSME sector that contributes to employment and wealth creation, contributing to the country’s economic diversification agenda, developing a culture of innovation, developing a culture of technological adoption, and attaining an integrated coordinating framework for MSME development programmes[2]. The Policy is being implemented under a Development Implementation Plan covering 2023 to 2027[2].
Investment Opportunities
The scale-up in Credit Guarantee Scheme lending, from K10.0 million in 2021 to K1.6 billion by 2025, alongside the new procurement preference for SMEs under Statutory Instrument No. 45 of 2025, both point to an SME finance and public-contracting environment expanding faster than at any point in recent years, relevant to lenders, guarantors and businesses positioning to work with Zambian SMEs[1]. The Policy’s own emphasis on business linkages, value chain participation and market access also marks out where MSME-focused investment and partnership activity is being actively encouraged[2].
Last Update: September 2026
