Deadline extended for arts fund in Zambia

“As a council we are grateful to all the artists who have embraced this empowerment scheme and have made efforts to apply," NACZ chairperson Patrick Samwimbila said. "Even with this overwhelming response from the artists, there have been some challenges in the process which undermined the participation of artists. Among the main challenges include the process of most arts businesses to formalise took longer than expected, particularly with statutory requirements.

“In other areas, lack of banking services meant artists had to travel to other locations to undertake the formalities. The council and the arts fraternity are committed to ensure this programme is nationwide and all artists from cross the country have an opportunity to apply to this empowerment. We appeal to our artists to make use of this opportunity to apply so that they participate in this important national programme.”

The objective of the scheme is to:

• Create a revolving fund that will develop the arts sector and benefit artists and arts businesses in the long run.
• Provide continued business support services for the development of sustainable arts enterprises.
• Stimulate the creation of employment opportunities for young people by supporting the growth and sustainability of arts enterprises.

Eligibility

• As a prerequisite obligation, applicants must be Zambian nationals either by descent, naturalisation or domiciled in Zambia.
• Applicants must be practising artists and paid-up members of any of the national arts associations affiliated to the NACZ and/or arts organisations registered by the NACZ.
• Applicants must be: a legally incorporated entity pursuant to the provisions of the Cooperatives Act of 2017 and or ordinarily registered under the Department of Cooperatives; a legally incorporated entity pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act No 10 of 2019 of the laws of Zambia and or ordinarily registered under the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA).
• National arts associations affiliated to the NACZ are also empowered to incorporate special purpose vehicles that will apply for the loans under the empowerment scheme. These entities can either be cooperatives registered under the Cooperatives Act or Companies registered under PACRA.
• The applicant must have traceable referees or guarantors as provided in the application form. A guarantor must be a person of good repute within the local community or a legally registered institution, e.g. clergy, senior government official or chief).
• The entity must have an active business bank account.

Guidelines and application form

The guidelines and application form can be downloaded below (in PDF format) or can be physically obtained from all provincial cultural offices and district cultural offices under the Ministry of Tourism and Arts or from the below address:

National Arts Council of Zambia
Acacia House
Cairo Road
PO Box 50812
Lusaka
Zambia

Submission

• All completed application forms and the necessary attachments should be submitted in hard copy at the provincial cultural offices and district cultural offices under the Ministry of Tourism and Arts or National Arts Council Secretariat in Lusaka.
• The deadline for submission is 18 September at 5pm. Only hard-copy applications will be accepted.
• In line with government policy, the council also encourages the participation of youth artists, female artists and artists living with disabilities.

The application form and funding guidelines can be downloaded below.