Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Zambia (SMEAZ) has cautioned that the government’s approach to drafting the new SME Bill risks disconnecting national policy from the realities faced by small businesses.
The Bill was approved by Cabinet in September 2025 and is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament for debate. The primary goal of the Bill is to address the challenges facing the SME sector, reduce the cost of doing business, formalize micro-businesses, and coordinate support for SMEs across various government ministries.
Association Chairman Daimone Siulapwa told Money News in an interview that the Minister of Small and Medium Enterprise Development is working in isolation by crafting the bill behind closed bureaucratic processes without broad stakeholder engagement.
“The minister is working in isolation, and this is a fundamental policy error,” he said.
Mr. Siulapwa explained that a law intended to restructure the entire SME landscape cannot be developed without active participation from the entrepreneurs it seeks to support.
He noted that sharing the full draft bill for nationwide consultations would have been more progressive, democratic and economically intelligent.
Mr. Siulapwa added that SMEs across all provinces should have been given an opportunity to contribute through structured engagement.
“SMEs are not theoretical entities, they are lived businesses operating under daily financial strain,” Mr. Siulapwa said.
Despite these concerns, he welcomed the government’s intention to reduce the cost of doing business for small enterprises, describing it as long overdue.
“Many SMEs collapse not because their ideas are weak, but because the cost of staying legally compliant is unbearable,” he noted.
Mr. Siulapwa also stressed that meaningful reform must include streamlining regulatory bodies to eliminate duplication and argued that centralizing SME related services under fewer, clearer authorities would significantly reduce administrative burdens and ease compliance for entrepreneurs.
He further urged the government to ensure that the bill incorporates measurable timelines for implementing reforms.
“Predictable regulations and transparent processes will give SMEs confidence to expand, invest and contribute more effectively to national economic growth,” he stated.
