, and 13 commercial banks, with a branch network of 159 as at end - december 2005 compared to 123 in 1990. • commercial banks have improved the range of products offered to customers, in line with global innovations. these include automated teller machines ( atms ), foreign exchange accounts, visa debit cards, mortgages, and leasing services. in 2005, 4 commercial banks launched the e - switch facility to allow their customers to share their atms and other payment delivery channels, like point of sale terminals. these services were unheard of before the reforms and were supported by the international community. • commercial banks have also embarked on other initiatives including expansion programmes based on the community banking concept. this is consistent with the rural banking concept and is intended to provide financial services to those sectors of the community that are not currently serviced by the banking sector. ladies and gentlemen, to meet the challenges which come with an expanded banking sector and in our desire to continue modernising the overall financial sector, it has been imperative for the prudential and supervisory mandate of the bank of zambia to be strengthened. in this regard, the key initiatives that have been effected, with an ultimate goal of promoting safe, sound and efficient operations have included : • the enactment and amendment of the banking and financial services acts in 1994 and 2000, respectively. • the implementation of the banking supervision application project, aimed at supporting banking supervision and providing a framework for supervision with the view of having a safer financial sector. distinguished ladies and gentlemen, in order to promote greater access by the population to banking and financial services, the following have been implemented : • establishment of an automated electronic clearing house in 1999 ( to speed up processing cheques from 4 - 10 days for local and country checks to 2 - 5 days, respectively ), enhancing the security of cheques and introducing machine - readable cheques. • establishment of a direct debt and credit clearing system ( ddacc ) and a realtime gross settlement system ( rtgs ) called zambian interbank payment and settlement system ( zipss ) in october 2001 and june 2004, respectively. the ddacc system has facilitated the transfer of money by electronic means for payment of bills and salaries while rtgs allows a speedy, safer and large value clearing facility. commercial banks have also set up a foreign currency cheque clearing system. • the adoption of the financial sector development plan ( fsdp ). this is a framework which aims to promote the development of a stable, sound and

the lower end of the market. however, most of the credit extended by banks and microfinance institutions is targeted at individuals in formal employment or already established enterprises. only an insignificant amount is extended to start - up initiatives or the informal sector. this has been exacerbated by the inability of entrepreneurs to articulate and sell bankable projects through robust business plans. in addition, it is common knowledge that zambians prefer to be in formal employment rather than engage in entrepreneurial activities on a full time basis. the small number of educated zambians engaging in entrepreneurial activities limits the scale of indigenous businesses as evidenced by the non participation of zambians in major sectors of the economy like mining or manufacturing. it is however, important to realise that individual entrepreneurs as well as small and medium sized enterprises form the engine of economic and social development as they generate the much needed employment for our people. hence the need to encourage all efforts aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship. distinguished invited guests, our institutions of higher learning play an important role by molding and developing innovative and creative mindsets amongst our young people. with this belief in themselves, young people can be productive, take responsibility in their respective communities and ultimately drive our economy forward. we need to remind ourselves that google was founded by students ; facebook was founded by a student ; and even microsoft was formed by bill gates as a student. ladies and gentlemen, let me assure you that the bank of zambia is committed to ensuring the availability of finance to viable entrepreneurs including small and medium sized businesses. to this end, the bank continues to spearhead the financial sector development plan, which is aimed at strengthening the zambian financial sector as well as guiding efforts for realising the vision of a stable, sound and market based financial system that would support the efficient mobilisation and allocation of resources necessary for economic diversification and sustainable growth. in concluding, i wish all entrants to this competition, the best of luck. i further with to congratulate in advance the ultimate winners of this inaugural business plan competition – venturecomp 2010. i thank you.