LUSAKA, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank on Wednesday said it was interested in supporting the development of Zambia's aquaculture value chain.
Valerie Hickey, the World Bank Global Director for Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy, said the bank was interested in seeing that Zambia's aquaculture value chain starts flourishing.
In remarks delivered when she paid a courtesy call on Elias Mubanga, Zambia's Minister of Small and Medium Enterprise Development, the World Bank official said the bank wanted to know areas in which it could collaborate with the ministry in providing support to develop aquaculture not only for food security but as a thriving sector for creation of jobs and contributing to economic development, according to a release from the ministry.
On his part, the Zambian minister thanked the World Bank for its interest in supporting small and medium enterprises in aquaculture value chains in the country.
He said small and medium enterprises lack technological innovations, business solutions and entrepreneurship culture, adding that the support from the World Bank will spur more small enterprises to venture into the aquaculture sector.
According to him, the ministry has embarked on a number of interventions to ensure that small and medium enterprises form cooperatives in order to formalize their businesses.
The government, he said, wanted to see thriving small and medium enterprises as they contribute about 70 percent to the country's gross domestic product. ■