USAID Zambia Enterprise Development and Growth Enhanced (EDGE) Activity YEAR 1 ANNUAL

The activity is designed to ease constraints for agricultural SMEs to access financial services and build competitiveness for SMEs' products. EDGE is committed to increasing gender equality and youth and women empowerment, facilitating targeted empowerment activities as needed. The activity has two primary objectives: Increased access to finance for agricultural SMEs and Increased Competitiveness of SMEs' Products. To achieve these objectives, EDGE will strengthen the ability of banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to serve SMEs and catalyze the growth of non-bank financial institutions. The activity will also build capacity of financial service providers (FSPs) and introduce new financial products that enable them to develop tailored loan and investment products to cover the entire range of SME financial needs. In addition, EDGE will strengthen SME management and marketing capacity and improve network input/output relationships. This will be achieved through a business advisor network, which will support agricultural SMEs in developing their business management and marketing skills. The activity will also focus on improving network input/output relationships, which will enable SMEs to access new markets and increase their competitiveness. The EDGE Activity is built on investments to date designed to ease constraints for agricultural SMEs to access financial services and build competitiveness for SMEs' products. The activity is working through partnerships to achieve its objectives, using a facilitation approach that emphasizes stimulating systemic change, identifying effective incentives to prompt behavior change and self-selection, and committing to adaptive management principles and integrating learning throughout the life of activity. The activity has made significant progress in its first year, with a focus on strengthening the ability of banks and MFIs to serve SMEs and catalyzing the growth of non-bank financial institutions. EDGE has built capacity of FSPs and introduced new financial products that enable them to develop tailored loan and investment products to cover the entire range of SME financial needs. The activity has also made progress in strengthening SME management and marketing capacity and improving network input/output relationships. The EDGE Activity is committed to increasing gender equality and youth and women empowerment, facilitating targeted empowerment activities as needed. The activity has identified and prioritized key gender- and age-related obstacles and actions, including facilitating capacity building and technical assistance for women and youth SMEs and FSPs. Through its GYSI analysis and resulting GYSI strategy and action plans, EDGE aims to create sustainable impact at scale and drive lasting systemic changes that benefit women and youth SMEs and FSPs. The activity has also made progress in its implementation, with a focus on adaptive management principles and integrating learning throughout the life of activity. EDGE has established a business advisor network to support agricultural SMEs in developing their business management and marketing skills, and has made progress in improving network input/output relationships, which will enable SMEs to access new markets and increase their competitiveness. Overall, the EDGE Activity is making significant progress in its first year, with a focus on strengthening the ability of banks and MFIs to serve SMEs and catalyzing the growth of non-bank financial institutions. The activity is committed to increasing gender equality and youth and women empowerment, and is working through partnerships to achieve its objectives.