NANCY SIAME, Lusaka
THE Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) will produce a collateral registry by December this year to enable small-sized enterprises to use movables as security to access finance.

The collateral registry will enable micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to access finance using other forms of property as security other than real estate.
The establishment of the collateral registry follows the enactment into law of the Moveable Property Security Interest Act No. 3 of 2016.

PACRA chief executive officer Anthony Bwembya said in a statement issued by public relations officer Vaida Njobvu yesterday that the agency has already competed the first phase of the procurement process and has since submitted the implementing regulations to the Ministry of Justice.

Mr Bwembya said the registration system for collateral registry will be online and will, therefore, be accessible all the time.

“The registry will be accessible to the public at all times including weekends and holidays,” he said.

He said the enactment of Act No. 3 is a milestone for Zambia as it seeks to broaden the scope of the movable property that can be used as collateral.

“The agency is hopeful that with the establishment of the collateral registry, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises will have easy access to finance,” Mr Bwembya said.

Source: Zambia Daily Mail