They also sought to strengthen high impact private sector financing across the region.

Zambian Minister of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Elias Mubanga, European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice President Thomas Östros opened the 7th European Investment Bank SME Banking and Microfinance Academy.

Others were Ambassador-Designate of the European Union (EU) to Zambia Karolina Stasiak and the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) representatives.

“We extend a warm welcome to all the banking leaders convened in Lusaka this week. Zambia deeply appreciates the European Investment Bank’s longstanding support for unlocking high impact financing that is transforming our agriculture sector and enabling Zambian business to grow,” said Mubanga said.

“By coming together, Zambian, African and international partners can better explore innovative approaches to strengthen private sector financing and drive economic growth during challenging times.”

Over recent years, the EIB SME Banking Academies, held in Southern, West and East Africa, have strengthened financial, technical and banking skills of more than 40,000 African financial professionals.

Experts from leading regional financial institutions as well as the EIB, IMF and OECD will also discuss how to overcome challenges hindering trade finance and embrace digitalization to better serve private sector customers.

The European Investment Bank is the world’s largest international public bank and over the last decade the EIB has provided more than EUR 32 billion for private and public investment across Africa.

Zambia is the EIB’s largest country of operation in southern Africa and over the past five decades, the EIB has provided more than EUR 1.2 billion for priority business, water, energy, and transport investment across the country.