Millennium has a proven track record of supporting local businesses and improving business environments. In Zambia, through the Millennium-implemented USAID Global Accountability Program’s Zambia Accelerating Transparency and Integrity Activity (ZATI), we work closely with government partners to build consensus and develop solutions that support institutional and policy reforms. These reforms focus on beneficial ownership transparency in the private sector, asset disclosure, strengthening anti-corruption agencies, and improving public procurement transparency.
In collaboration with the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) and the Chipata City Council, ZATI brought services directly to the community through a Mobile Business Registration Services and Awareness campaign. This initiative reached local vendors and small business owners in the Chipata District Market, providing them with the tools and resources necessary to formally register their businesses.
By enhancing transparency, ZATI is strengthening the business environment in Zambia, making the country more attractive for investment.
Similarly, in Niger, Millennium supported business registration reform to improve the ease of doing business and foster economic growth. Under a USAID/ MCC project, Millennium developed activities to reduce the time, cost, and number of steps to register a business, reducing opportunities for corruption. Our approach was to establish a “one-stop shop” that would create clear, rapid, and standardized processes for business creation and registration to encourage new enterprises to enter the market.
To support private sector-led economic growth, Millennium prepared a blueprint for a national electronic database of registered businesses and electronic application processes and forms that would open the way for a fully computerized and integrated business registration system. To foster sustainability, Millennium developed “how-to” guides for business creation for aspiring entrepreneurs and drafted a feasibility study for a business incubator program to foster innovation and growth in the business sector in Niger.