For many young people, starting a business can feel like a distant goal. The usual conversation quickly turns to one question: Where will the capital come from?
However, in Chawama, George and Mandevu communities, a different approach is taking root. Young people are discovering that starting small, saving consistently and working together can create opportunities that may have seemed out of reach individually.
As part of the Youth-Led Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development Project, the Zambian Governance Foundation (ZGF) has been supporting young people in these communities with training on savings groups as a pathway to income generation and greater financial resilience.
So far, 13 youth savings groups have been established, bringing young people together to save, learn and explore ways of investing their collective resources.
When K10 becomes more than K10
One of the most interesting aspects of the savings groups is the recognition that saving does not have to begin with large amounts of money.
In one youth savings group in Mandevu, members have been contributing amounts as little as K10 per week. Individually, K10 may appear insignificant. Collectively, however, regular contributions are creating a pool of resources that members can draw on to pursue their own economic activities. The significance lies not only in the amount saved, but in the discipline and collective commitment behind it.
For young people who may not have access to formal financing, a savings group can provide a practical starting point for building financial habits, accessing small amounts of capital and testing business ideas.
From saving to starting
The change becomes more visible when the savings begin to move beyond the group.
Some members of the Mandevu group have already started small businesses, including selling clothes. What began as a weekly contribution has started to translate into income-generating activity.
This is where the value of the savings group becomes more than financial. The group creates a space where young people can encourage one another, share ideas and begin to see themselves not only as people looking for employment, but as people capable of creating their own sources of income.
The journey from K10 to a small business may appear modest, but it represents a significant shift in thinking: capital does not always have to arrive before action can begin. Sometimes, collective action helps create the capital.
The power of saving together
Savings groups also change the way young people experience financial responsibility. Saving as a group introduces accountability. Members have to commit to regular contributions, participate in decisions and think collectively about how resources can be used. For young entrepreneurs, these are important skills.
A business requires discipline, record keeping, planning and the ability to make decisions about limited resources. The savings group therefore becomes a practical learning environment in which members can begin developing some of the financial behaviours needed to manage an enterprise.
More importantly, it creates a sense that economic progress does not always have to be pursued alone.
From Financial Support to Financial Agency
The significance of these groups is not simply that young people are saving money. It is that they are building greater control over their own economic choices. When young people can mobilise even small amounts of their own resources, they begin to move from waiting for opportunities to creating them. That is an important distinction in youth empowerment. Support does not always have to mean providing the money to start a business. It can also mean creating the knowledge, structures and collective confidence that enable young people to mobilise resources themselves.
What happens next?
The establishment of 13 savings groups is an important beginning, but the real measure of their success will be what they are able to build over time.
Will more members start businesses?
Will existing businesses grow?
Will the groups be able to increase their savings?
Will they begin accessing larger markets or other sources of finance?
These are the changes worth following.
For now, however, the experience in these communities offers a simple but powerful lesson: economic empowerment does not always begin with a large investment. Sometimes it begins with K10, a commitment to keep saving, and a group of young people who believe that their small contributions can add up to something bigger.
And when those small contributions begin turning into businesses, income and confidence, the real value of saving together becomes clear.
To contribute to the discussion, please feel free to reach out via info@zgf.org.zm
