By Comm. VPM Nyasulu
aka @shikulu-LUBUTO
Over the past four weeks, I have argued that Zambia’s next Government (GRZ) must deliberately build an ecosystem within which indigenous Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (i-MSMEs) can genuinely thrive. First, Government must adopt a National Indigenous Enterprise Development Strategy-NiEDS. Second, it must fundamentally reform access to finance. Third, Government procurement must become the country’s largest market development tool-MDT. Fourth, Zambia must deliberately localise and deepen indigenous value chains.
The fifth indispensable action is equally fundamental.
Government must continuously reform Zambia’s regulatory environment so that it rewards productive enterprise rather than bureaucratic compliance.
Historically there has been tendency to create laws and/or regulation that must sort of follow pre-set periodic reviews rather than responsive revisions timely undertaken. That approach is inadequate in a faced changing business world of today. Regulation is necessary. Businesses require standards that protect consumers, workers, investors and the environment. But it must enable enterprise, not obstruct it.
Too often, indigenous entrepreneurs spend more time navigating bureaucracy than building businesses. Lengthy registration processes, multiple licences, overlapping inspections, unpredictable interpretations, delayed approvals and high compliance costs discourage formalisation and growth. Small firms are often burdened almost like large corporations, despite having far fewer resources. To give credit where it is due: Zambia’s business registration processes have been shortened to a matter of hours as compared to what used to obtain not very long ago. With the Smart Zambia program, the country is on the right trajectory as digitisation has taken root.
The next GRZ should adopt a simple test for every regulation: Does it make productive enterprise easier, faster, cheaper and more competitive while safeguarding the public interest? If not, it should be revised or removed.
Licensing across ministries, statutory bodies and local authorities should be harmonised to eliminate duplication, with approvals coordinated through a single platform.
Regulatory predictability is equally critical. Investors need confidence that rules will be applied consistently. Frequent policy shifts create uncertainty and discourage long-term investment.
Compliance should also be proportionate to enterprise size and risk. A market trader, a small manufacturer and a large corporation should not face identical administrative burdens.
Tax policy should follow the same logic. The goal is not only short-term revenue, but expanding the base of productive enterprises that can sustainably contribute to national income.
Technology provides a major opportunity. The GRZ ‘bus’ i.e. digital government services are fast reducing paperwork, improving transparency, limiting corruption and lowering the cost of doing business. Entrepreneurs should focus on production and innovation, not queues and signatures.
Regulation should be treated as economic infrastructure. Poor regulation raises costs just as poor roads do, while efficient regulation improves competitiveness just as reliable electricity improves productivity. Successful economies are not those with the fewest rules, but those with the smartest rules—clear, fair and enabling.
Zambia has thousands of capable entrepreneurs ready to build, employ and transform communities. What they need is not more bureaucracy, but a system that removes unnecessary barriers while enforcing fair and predictable standards.
When regulation enables rather than obstructs, indigenous MSMEs will not merely survive. They will scale, innovate, compete and become a central engine of Zambia’s inclusive economic transformation.
Naluta mafumu, Chiuta wamutumbikani!
The Author can be reached on +260 955 746 997 or via email at vpmn69@gmail.com
