Kukula Capital is proud to be delivering the Zambia Investment Support Programme (ZISP) alongside Impact Capital Africa, powered by British International Investment (BII) and in partnership with Growth Investment Partners Zambia (GIP Zambia) — a technical assistance initiative designed to help Zambia’s most promising SMEs become investor-ready and successfully access growth capital.
The programme
ZISP was launched at the ICA Zambia Conference and represents a significant commitment by BII, one of the world’s leading development finance institutions, to building the private sector capacity that sits behind successful capital deployment. The programme is designed to address a persistent gap in Zambia’s investment ecosystem: many high-potential businesses lack the financial systems, governance structures, and investor-facing materials needed to attract and absorb institutional capital, even when the underlying business fundamentals are strong.
ZISP bridges that gap directly — providing targeted, hands-on support to Zambian SMEs to prepare them for investment, connecting them with appropriate capital providers, and accelerating the funding journey from first conversation to close.
GIP Zambia: a new anchor for SME finance
The programme sits alongside the launch of GIP Zambia itself — a pioneering new investment platform backed by BII, NAPSA (the National Pension Scheme Authority of Zambia), and Swedfund International. With an initial anchor commitment of US$70 million, GIP Zambia will provide long-term, flexible, local currency capital to Zambian SMEs — directly addressing the foreign exchange risk and tenor mismatch that has historically constrained SME financing in the country.
GIP Zambia is designed to mobilise additional domestic and international capital over time, creating a scalable platform that strengthens Zambia’s financial ecosystem and supports long-term economic growth. For Kukula, the alignment between GIP Zambia’s mandate and our own 15-year track record of backing Zambian SMEs makes this an especially meaningful collaboration.
Kukula’s role
Our involvement in ZISP reflects the evolution of Kukula’s platform beyond fund investing into a full-service advisory and capacity-building capability. We are working directly with entrepreneurs and companies that are driving Zambia’s economic growth — helping them build the investor-readiness infrastructure that unlocks access to capital.
If you are an SME seeking to raise capital and would benefit from targeted support to prepare for investment, we would be glad to hear from you.