Business headlines: Savenda wants closer ties with the West. Featuring Clever Mpoha.

1. Wednesday, March 23, 2022 www.daily-mail.co.zm
Africans could avail skills while West could use capital, know-how
Savenda wants closer ties with West
ZIMEC
MinistryengagesSmartZambia
Boeingjetsunder‘surveillance’
Briefs
NEW DELHI - India’s aviation
regulator has placed the
country’s fleet of Boeing 737
planes under “enhanced
surveillance” after a jet
crashed in China.
It said it has sent out
teams “to monitor flight
procedures, air worthiness
and operations”.
On Monday, a China Eastern
Airlines Boeing 737-800
crashed in southern China
with 132 people on board.
Rescue teams are working
at the site but it is not yet
known what caused the
incident.
The flight was travelling
from Kunming to Guangzhou
when it plunged to the
ground and caught fire.
China Eastern Airlines has
grounded all its 737-800s.
“Flight safety is serious
business and we are closely
studying the situation,” said
Arun Kumar, chief of India’s
Directorate General of Civil
Association. BBC
LUSAKA - The Ministry
of Small and Medium
Enterprises Development
will engage Smart Zambia
Institute to see how the latter
can come on board to hasten
the process of registering
cooperatives in all the 116
districts.
Ministry of Small and
Medium Enterprises
Development Permanent
Secretary Yvonne Mpundu
said in a statement released
yesterday that registration
centres are flooded with
applicants and the process
is slow due to numerous
challenges.
“Some centres are facing
computer system failures,
power outages, and in
some cases the officers
are overwhelmed with
the number of applicants
frequenting the centres,” Ms
Mpundu said.
She said Government
is concerned about the
challenges members of the
public are facing during
the registration process
and is consulting various
stakeholders to see how the
process can be expedited.
Ms Mpundu said
Government wants to
engage Smart Zambia to see
how best the automated
system can be put on the
Government Service Bus
(GSB) to enable people
access the registration
process online.
She said Government
is aware that some
people are being charged
exorbitant fees to register
cooperatives contrary to
what is stipulated under the
Registration Act.
NKOMBO KACHEMBA
For comments or questions email
maria.karima@investrustbank.co.zm
Maria Karima
Head - Corporate Affairs & Marketing
Investrust Bank Plc
Dear Reader,
We trust that you and your wonderful
family are well and that you are keeping
safe as we continue to fight the spread
of the Corona Virus. Please do your part
in ensuring that we collectively conquer
the Covid -19 pandemic by following all
the health guidelines as guided by the
Ministry of Health.
During the past weeks, we have been
sharing stories regarding how we can
leverage aspects that can help us manage
our money better during the pandemic for
shortandlongtermpurposesandoutcomes.
This week, we focus on highlighting the
commemoration of the 2022 Financial
Literacy Week (FLW)! This marks a very
important 2022 calendar activity for
Zambia as a whole and for individuals as
we commemorate the 10th Edition of the
event in Zambia. We are yet again reminded
about the importance of managing personal
finances well. This is a call on all of us to
ensure that we practice and adopt good
money management behaviours that will
ultimately change the quality of our life
and that of our loved ones for the better.
Understanding Financial Literacy Week
The Financial Literacy Week (FLW) is
an annual awareness campaign that is
commemorated to educate and sensitise
the general public about various topics on
managing personal finances.The campaign
is adapted to meet the objective of our
National Strategy on Financial Education
(NSFE) which is to provide Zambians
with knowledge, understanding, skills and
confidence to help them make prudent
financial decisions for themselves and their
families. The Zambia FLW is a localisation
of the Global Money Week (GMW).
GMW is an annual global awareness-raising
campaign on the importance of ensuring
that young people, from an early age, are
financially aware and that they gradually
acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes
and behaviours necessary to make sound
financial decisions and ultimately achieve
financial wellbeing and financial resilience.
The FLW activities target children (0-17
years), youth (18 -35 years) and adults
(35 years and above).
Build Your Future: Be Money Smart
The 2022 FLW is now, 21st to 27th March!
It is being commemorated under the ‘Build
Your Future: Be Money Smart’ theme.
The theme emphasises the need for us
all to understand that it is only through
being Money Smart that we can change
the quality of our lives and that of our
loved ones as we work towards attaining
our Financial Freedom (FF) in the wake
of the global pandemic and that we need
to be knowledgeable about ways to earn,
save and invest our available and future
financial resources that thrive in a digitalised
environment.
Why We Care…
We recognise our role in helping to improve
the quality of life for individuals and their
loved ones by Financially including them
through the provision of tailor-made
innovative yet affordable products and
services. This enables people to be active
players in our country’s economic growth.
For this reason, we proudly join other
stakeholders in the national Financial
Educationenhancementagendainobserving
the objectives of FLW. Stakeholders include
and are not limited to, our regulator, the
Bank of Zambia (BOZ), Ministry of Finance,
Pension and Insurance Authority, German
Savings Bank Foundation for International
Cooperation, Rural Finance Expansion
Programme, Capital Markets Association
of Zambia, Zambia,
Association of Pension Fund Managers,
Association of Micro Finance Institutions
of Zambia, Insurers Association of Zambia,
Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ),
Securities Exchange Commission (SEC),
Financial Sector Deepening Zambia
(FSDZ), other banks and individuals who
are committed to ensuring that the citizens
of Zambia have access to information as
well as products and services that can
equip them to make better choices in
money management that will ultimately
help them to create wealth and attain FF.
Setting The Tone
To ignite your willpower to make positive
changes in your money management style,
if not doing so yet, we share key learnings
that can help you to get started (be sure
to visit any IBP branches nearest to you
for products and services that can help
you to attain this):
Financial Education - Foundation For
Being Money Smart
Knowledge is indeed power! Therefore,
it goes without saying that we need to
learn as much as we can about money
and its importance in our lives not only
for ourselves but also for our children.
With financial knowledge, we elevate
ourselves to being individuals capable of
making rewarding money management
choices. With correct information about
money, we arm ourselves against so many
money-related scams. So let us begin to
learn, learn and learn about money. Let us
cascade these learnings to our children
too. Please be sure to totally understand
any investment plans before committing
any money into it. When in doubt, please
consult with experts. Clearly understand
what is suitable for your situation and
when in doubt, please do not go ahead.
Being Money Smart – Get Way To
Wealth Creation
Your ultimate goal in being Money Smart is
to create a better life for you and your loved
ones through wealth creation. When you
are financially literate and Money Smart,
chances are very high that you will make
smart choices in all aspects of financial
planning. You will know what is good and
bad for you regarding the money decisions
that you make. Over time, you will realise
that you gained more wealth because you
made the right decisions.
Beyond Financial Benefits – Your
Health Matters!
Are there times that you have had to stress
about money to the point of literally feeling
ill? Worrying and stressing about money
can be very detrimental to one’s health,
mentally and physically. Such worries can
lead to vices such as alcoholism which
can affect the wellbeing of families. In
extreme cases, worrying about money
all the time can even lead to depression.
Be wise avoid money troubles so that you
keep healthier in the long run.
Back To Basics – Savings And Financial
Security Are Key
Being Money Smart is knowing that you
can only get to create wealth through
saving. This will lead you to securing
your future so that you are able to live
a quality life even when you have retired
or you are not able to generate income
(salary or otherwise) due to unforeseen
circumstances. So please remember to
plan for your retirement wealth as you save.
Getting disciplined about saving sets you
on this path, nothing else will. Saving is
‘the’ sure provider of a financial ‘backstop’
for life’s unthinkable or uncertainties, it
enhances feelings of security and peace of
mind. Once you have grown your savings,
you create ‘seed money’ for higher-yielding
investments. Nothing beats attaining this.
Saving accords, you the freedom to live
life on your own terms.
In concluding today’s story, we reemphasise
the following TIPS that will help you get
started with your Money Smart journey if
not attained yet:
• Understand your money ‘DNA’; how
you perceive money vis a vis how it
aligns to/with your life values will guide
you in this.
• Once you figure out your money ‘DNA’,
get organised and begin to practice
good behaviour towards money. If your
DNA is ‘negative’, begin to change that
to ‘positive’!
• Understand and know where your
money goes, keep track of all your
expenditure no matter how small and
begin to budget consistently.
• Plan and make specific, measurable,
attainable, realistic and time-bound
saving/investment goals.
• Remember to be selfish when you get
yourincome,payyourselffirst(remember
the 50 30 20 rule!), and think of the 20
you are supposed to save as the first
bill you need to pay. Over time, you will
be proud and smiling at how you will
have grown your savings.
• Spend smarter, don’t live outside your
means, you can’t spend more than you
make. Living outside your means simply
means that your expenses exceed your
income. Should this happen, you have
three options to come out of this trap;
increase income, reduce your expenses
or do both. The choice is yours.
• When in debt, continuously work at
reducing it.
• Save, Save and Save!
Until next week, we wish you a Money Smart
and Financially Healthy life! If not Money
Smart yet, do not stress, begin now! Invest
in Financial Education, learn as much as
you can about money management and
live a Financially Healthy life on your terms
beyond the FLW.
Stay blessed and be a blessing to others
and remember to keep safe!
A Guide to ‘Living’ Smart The 2022
Financial Literacy Week Theme -
‘Build Your Future: Be Money Smart’!
KELVIN KACHINGWE
Lusaka
S
AVENDA Group of
Companies executive
chairman Clever
Mpoha has called for
close collaboration
between African
countries and the West in order
to help develop the continent.
Mr Mpoha said Africans
should take advantage of the
capital and technology provided
by the developed world by
making their skills available.
He was speaking with the
Voice of America’s Peter
Clottey on the Nightline
Africa programme aired from
Washington, United States of
America (USA), recently.
On the programme, Mr Mpoha
explained how his business
enterprise rose with an initial
capital of US$1,000 in 1997 to
a multi-industrial conglomerate
with a net worth of US$300
million, 25 years later.
He said what has helped
the Savenda Group develop
into a global supply chain
management company was its
network of partnerships in the
USA, European Union (EU),
Middle East and Asia-Pacific
region.
“The Africa of today is
different from the Africa of
the olden days. Our people are
educated in the West. They
understand the culture of the
West, we are friends of the
West. Together we can do
much better” Mr Mpoha said.
He said while the West have
capacity to avail their capital
and know-how, Africans could
provide skills.
“Hard work is already in
our blood,” said Mr Mpoha,
who recently published an
autobiography, The Business
Mind of Clever Mpoha: The
Group MD. Who built Savenda
Group of Companies into an
African Conglomerate.
“So it’s not something
we can debate about. We
want Africa to migrate
from developing to being
developed.”
He explained that Savenda
Group was an example of how
partnerships with the West
could help African countries
find African solutions to
African problems.
Mr Mpoha also called on
Africans in the diaspora to
return to the continent and offer
their technical know-how in a
quest to develop Africa.
Savenda Group, which
began its business in 1997
by selling electro-magnetic
shields for mobile phones, now
has investments in medical
supplies, mining services,
manufacturing, insurance,
construction, express printing,
energy, transport, logistics
and risk assessment for ISO
certification.
Another oversubscription in
Government bond auction
KABANDA CHULU
Lusaka
STRONG investor appetite
has continued to characterise
government securities, with
Monday’s bond auction
receiving bids amounting to
over K2.7 billion but only K1.8
billion was borrowed.
Initially, Government through
the Bank of Zambia (BoZ)
offered to borrow K2.6 billion
but settled for K1.839.06 billion
despite an oversubscription of
K2.745.46 billion during the
auction that was postponed
from last Friday to Monday
to accommodate the burial of
former President Rupiah Banda.
According to government
bond auction results released
by the financial markets
department at BoZ, investors
deposited bids amounting
to K158.68 million but only
K87.31 million was taken in the
15 years’ tenor, while K42.06
million was borrowed in the 10
years’ tenor out of a bid amount
worth K75.87 million.
In the seven years’ tenor,
Government settled for K423.11
million from a bid amounting to
K793.94 million with K342.51
million being borrowed out of
K510.85 million, in the five
years’ tenor.
In the three years’ tenor, a bid
amount of K545.93 million was
made but only K403.58 million
was borrowed and K540.49
million was settled for despite
a bid amounting to K660.19
million in the two years’ tenor.
For the past few months,
Government has maintained its
borrowing limits within target
range of K2 billion and K2.6
billion for treasury bills and
government bonds, respectively.
This development will enable
the private sector and small
medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) to access credit from
both local and off-shore
investors.
Previously, the private sector
and SMEs were crowded out
since many investors prefer
lending to Government, which
is perceived to be ‘risk-free’.
Meanwhile, the Kwacha is
anticipated to remain stable
and post minor gains in the
near term as United States (US)
dollar inflows build up from
various corporates.
MPOHA
ICTAZ, Adanian Labs pen deal
KABANDA CHULU
Lusaka
INFORMATION and
Communications Technology
Association of Zambia (ICTAZ)
and Adanian Labs yesterday
signed an agreement to help
create home-grown solutions
by enabling startup businesses
to play a significant role in
the country’s digital economy
transformation agenda.
Adanian Labs is a pan African
technological firm whose
business model is focused on
creating incubators and nurturing
scalable technology start-ups
that create sustainable impact
on the continent and beyond to
ensure that people leverage on the
power of technology to transform
and empower their respective
communities.
ICTAZ is an institution
mandated to regulate
professionals in ICT and to
protect public interest and
consumers from software
applications that can be harmful.
During the signing ceremony,
Adanian Labs chief technical
officer Bendon Murgor said
Zambia has a great future in the
technology sub-sector whose
potential needs to be harnessed.
Mr Murgor said Adanian
is aiming at building 300
innovative startups across Africa
by 2025 that will be supported
to design and develop software
applications to offer different
solutions.
“We are currently working
with 31 start-ups on the continent
and three are in Zambia and very
soon their applications will be
on the market to offer different
solutions,” he said.
“When joining our incubator
programme, start-ups are offered
US$120,000 to help build their
innovations, hence we are
looking at people who believe in
themselves, and are resilient and
ready to self-sacrifice towards
their goals.”
And ICTAZ president Clement
Sinyangwe said the association
is looking forward to embracing
skills that Adanian Labs will
bring to help nurture many
software developers.