a recent survey on financial inclusiveness indicated that only about one third of the population is financially served by banks and non bank financial institutions. barriers to access to credits identified included ; high interest rates, caps on loans and excessive collateral requirements. the importance of increasing access of banking services to a larger proportion of our population cannot be overemphasized. financial services are a critical tool to help people step onto the economic growth ladder and create a brighter future by tapping their own creativity in creating jobs and incomes. it can also be instrumental for broader human development, by letting clients invest in themselves and seek protection from shocks and bad fortune. it is however, gratifying to note that following the survey, commercial banks and other nonbank financial institutions in zambia have increasingly become receptive to lending to small and medium - sized enterprises and have in this regard established departments dedicated to small and medium enterprise lending and introduced financial products specifically designed to meet the financing needs of these businesses. in working with banking on health, banks have shown interest in learning about the private health sector, a sector whose business characteristics were largely unknown to banks. however, banks can still misunderstand the risks, overestimate the costs, and underestimate the potential returns of lending to sectors, such as the health sector. in addition to the structural barriers in the financial sector that limit access to finance, many private health care providers have limited financial and business - management skills and often struggle to prepare a bankable loan applications or business proposals. it is difficult for commercial banks to assess the credit risk of a loan without the financial statements and business plans to support the loan application. chairperson, i am happy to state that “ banking on health ”, with support from the u. s. government, has worked to address some of the barriers to credit by providing market research information on the private medical sector to commercial banks and microfinance institutions so that they can understand the business characteristics of the sector. the financial management training that banking on health provides to health businesses also lowers the risk of lending to these borrowers. ladies and gentlemen, let me end by pointing out that the challenges arising from the global financial and economic crisis are huge but surmountable. major economies of the world are putting in place various stimulus packages, which are expected to take the world economy out of the crisis. without doubt, these measures will benefit emerging and developing economies as well, provided that we remain committed to pursuing strong socio - economic policies. although the global financial

most preferred in the market. i urge zica to ensure this program is relevant not only to zambia but to our neighbouring countries in order to provide an alternative to the costlier international professional training courses. this is a potential area of foreign exchange earnings for this country. the competitive strength of our country can only be proven by our ability to sell in the most demanding of international markets. as i conclude, let me challenge zica and all its members to assist in promoting efforts to improve the financial capability and financial education in zambia. i particularly would like to urge zica to partner with non - governmental organisations as well as the ministry of education in promoting financial education in schools and other institutions of learning in rural areas. this sort of collaborative approach provides an excellent model for how professionals should put their expertise to good use in local communities across the country. at this time when the world economy is at crossroad, i am sure the accountancy profession is positioned to take a leadership role in helping to steer our way out of the financial crisis, through high - quality accounting and auditing standards ; through high - quality ethical standards and through an understanding and support of the growth of small and medium enterprises. ladies and gentlemen, i thank you for your attention.