INDO Zambia Bank has pledged to expand private-sector financing across agriculture, energy, mining, tourism, manufacturing and infrastructure to support the Government's Grow Zambia Agenda. Board Chairman Dr. Michael Gondwe said this afternoon during a courtesy call on Finance and National Planning Minister Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane that improved macroeconomic stability and the business environment had strengthened

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INDO Zambia Bank has pledged to expand private-sector financing across agriculture, energy, mining, tourism, manufacturing and infrastructure to support the Government’s Grow Zambia Agenda.

Board Chairman Dr. Michael Gondwe said this afternoon during a courtesy call on Finance and National Planning Minister Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane that improved macroeconomic stability and the business environment had strengthened the platform for increased financing of production, exports and jobs. Gondwe, who outlined the bank’s existing and planned financing across key productive sectors, was accompanied by Managing Director Brajesh Kumar Singh and General Manager Godwin Ngoma.

According to Gondwe, the bank has disbursed nearly K400 million to more than 3,600 farmers under the Sustainable Agriculture Financing Facility, while its overall agricultural portfolio has risen to about K3.3 billion. He said the bank plans to further finance maize, soybeans, wheat, livestock, agro-processing and agricultural value addition.

In the energy sector, Indo Zambia Bank said it has financed a US$140 million project portfolio which is expected to bring more than 800 megawatts of additional generation on stream from the fourth quarter of 2026. A pipeline project exceeding US$40 million is under consideration and is expected to support an additional 100 megawatts.

The bank’s mining exposure has increased to nearly US$40 million, while about K700 million has been committed to sugar production. The institution is also projecting a further K300 million for the soybean sector, while wheat production financing is projected to increase by another US$15 million before year-end.

Gondwe also briefed the minister that the bank had additionally extended more than US$160 million to the domestic industry to support fertilizer and starch production and other manufacturing activities. A further US$50 million is under consideration for projects supporting industrial expansion, infrastructure, import substitution and exports.

He said the bank’s private-sector financing strategy was aligned with government targets for higher agricultural production, increased electricity generation, tourism expansion, higher copper output and stronger export earnings.

“We will remain a reliable partner of the Government in pursuing this agenda,” Gondwe said.

The chairman said the institution viewed Zambia’s next economic phase as one in which gains from stabilization should translate into increased investment, production, exports, employment and household incomes. He said Indo Zambia Bank had paid cumulative dividends of K246 million to the Government through the Industrial Development Corporation over the past five years.

Responding to the presentation, Musokotwane urged Indo Zambia Bank to go beyond conventional lending and use its links with India to help mobilize large-scale investment into commercial agriculture, agro-processing and other productive sectors.

“I look forward to this joint investment being a vehicle for attracting investments,” Musokotwane said. He identified sugar, soybeans and other export-oriented crops as areas where Zambia could attract experienced investors capable of operating at commercial scale.

“For these export crops, let’s work together to bring talent out of India to participate in corporate agriculture in Zambia,” he said.

Musokotwane said expansion of commercial agriculture could also support development of the Lobito Corridor by generating additional freight beyond minerals.

“Along the Lobito Corridor, we are looking for cargo. We have to build up the cargo on top of the minerals,” he said, citing large-scale sugar and soybean production as potential sources of cargo, alongside development of a forestry value chain incorporating timber, chipboard and paper production.

The minister urged the bank to use its institutional and business networks in India to identify credible investors capable of establishing operations in Zambia. He said the Government would ensure investors, local and foreign, were enabled with necessary facilities to reduce the time between investment decisions, job creation and production.

“Our job is to prepare for them — where is the land, where is the service infrastructure, whether it is electricity, whether it is roads — so that they don’t waste time,” Musokotwane said.

He said the next five years provided an opportunity for the Government and Indo Zambia Bank to deepen cooperation in mobilizing investment capable of increasing production, value addition, exports and jobs as Zambia moves from economic stabilization toward faster growth.

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