Agriculture is a key sector for social and human development in Zimbabwe and Zambia. It employs 65% and 75% of the population, respectively, and accounts for 15% and 19% of GDP. The sector is a pillar of a once prosperous economy in Zimbabwe, but its yields and production have been reduced since the early 2000s.

Thanks to their investment in AB Bank Zambia, AFD and Proparco will support the only bank financing SMEs and micro-entrepreneurs in the country.

The partnership, part of Proparco’s Choose Africa and ARIZ initiatives, consists of two portfolio loan guarantees totalling 2 million Euros. The guarantees will further boost AB Bank’s financing offering to MSMEs. At the same occasion, the two institutions signed a Confirmation of Eligibility for an ARIZ single-loan guarantee mechanism. This instrument will enable AB Bank to finance Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), thereby contributing to the growth of rural small-scale farmers in Zambia.

Discover Kenneth Kapampa’s story in Zambia, a pharmacist and founder of the pharmaceutical distribution company Ashton Pharmaceuticals. An entrepreneur, beneficiary from Choose Africa.

Created in 2011, AB Bank Zambia is the only SME and micro-entrepreneur financing bank in Zambia. ABZ has 7 branches and employs 450 staff. In 2019, the FISEA facility, managed by Proparco, invested €1.8 million (ZMW 50 million) in AB Bank Zambia’s capital increase and provided €180,000 in technical assistance to support the implementation of digital credit and savings services for rural populations on the digital mobile platform, eTumba.

Discover the story of Dorothy Kasompe in Zambia who developed Funamwango Farm, a citrus farm located on the outskirts of Lusaka. A woman entrepreneur beneficiary from Choose Africa.