PEPZ AND ILO GROW ECO-FRIENDLY JOBS

Partnership aims to develop local entrepreneurial capacity

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA –June 22, 2015 – Support for environmentally friendly jobs and businesses are the focus of a new partnership agreement signed recently between the Private Enterprise Programme-Zambia and Zambia Green Jobs.

The two private sector and enterprise development organisations have pledged to promote and develop business linkages, capacity and provide development support tools to help develop businesses that promote jobs in sectors that produce goods and services with an environmental benefit.

“Zambia Green Jobs and PEPZ both aim to create quality new jobs Zambia by supporting the private sector. The ways in which we are implementing our projects vary but overlap. As a result, we have developed varying skills and competencies in the field of private sector development. This partnership allows us to share knowledge and exchange of best practices in the promotion of entrepreneurship” said PEPZ Business Linkages Manager Andrew Kambobe.

Under the terms of the MOU Zambia Green Jobs’ green manufacturers of building materials will be profiled on PEPZ’s business-to-business platform www.zamb2b.com, where they can be able to target large construction companies.

The Private Enterprise Programme – Zambia, which is funded by the UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID), aims to strengthen and build the capacity of Zambia’s private sector to create jobs and contribute to the diversification of the economy.  PEPZ will work with Zambian enterprises that have the potential to grow, create jobs and contribute to economic diversification.

The Zambia Green Jobs Programme is an International Labour Organization (ILO)-led partnership between the government of Zambia and the United Nations (UN), including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and receives financial assistance from the Government of Finland.