Collaborations for Impact: Making Moves Towards Financial Inclusion
In August 2024, Restless Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) and Zambia Credit Guarantee Scheme (ZCGS), marking a timely partnership as the Zambian government pursues greater financial inclusion for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Like many Civil Society Organisations, we closely monitored the 2024 budget for commitments related to youth health and financial inclusion. We were pleased to see a strong focus on enhancing mental health services for young people, as well as on improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health services. These priorities resonate well with our sexual health initiatives, such as the SHE-SOARS and Youth for Health Projects, which actively support and track advancements supporting young people in these areas.
The 2024 budget also underscored the importance of supporting SMEs. To reinforce this, the Credit Guarantee Scheme allocation was raised to K300 million, with K150 million dedicated to SME and entrepreneurship support, and the remaining K150 million directed toward agricultural credit. This funding will allow farmers to borrow up to K70,000 through selected commercial banks, including Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco) and NATSAVE.
For our Ulemelero project, the enhanced Credit Guarantee Scheme brings significant opportunities for impact. Funded by Jersey Overseas Aid, the “Ulemelero – Live Well for Women’s Empowerment in Zambia” project focuses on expanding financial inclusion for young rural women by providing knowledge and access to affordable digital financial services (DFS). Through community mobilization, Ulemelero connects young women with financial service providers offering tailored, affordable credit solutions. These women, who often remain invisible to formal financial services due to low incomes, gender inequality, and rural isolation, can now benefit from digitized savings group processes aimed at digitising their saving profiles, leading to more interactions with digital finance. In 2023 alone, Ulemelero provided financial literacy training and increased access to inclusive financial services across 45 rural communities in Western, Luapula and Eastern Provinces, benefiting 1,500 young women and 1,000 men in new and existing saving groups. This effort led to the creation of 74 new savings groups, enabling more women to access loans and establish businesses to build economic resilience.
Restless Development Zambia commends the Government for increasing the allocation to the ZCGS in the 2024 Budget. This is a crucial step in addressing the challenges faced by MSMEs, especially women and youth, and we look forward to witnessing more rural young women and youth accessing guaranteed credit, further integrating them into the formal economy and enabling them to invest in small businesses, increase income, and improve their livelihoods. Through gender-inclusive sessions, we are also promoting women’s active participation in household financial decision-making. The partnership with ZCGS and FINCA will facilitate both cash loans and asset financing, amplifying the project’s reach.
In a similar vein, in alignment with advancing digital financial inclusion, we recently entered into agreements with digital market players, including Flexi Pay Solutions Ltd and MultaTech Ltd, to provide mobile phones on a Pay-As-You-Go basis to savings group members. Starting at just K27 ($1) per month for feature phones, these devices are payable over 12 months, making mobile phones affordable for members who previously lacked access. This initiative helps individuals join the digital economy and increases their engagement with DFS. To support this, we have partnered with Airtel, MTN, and Zamtel to train 73 community-based facilitators (CBFs) as mobile money agents, empowering them to promote DFS adoption within their communities. Female agents, in particular, play a vital role in building trust among rural women, encouraging them to engage confidently with digital financial tools.
