Zambia’s ministry of finance has partnered with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to give US$93.6 million in grants to the country’s entrepreneurs and farmers, claims a 13 July 2020 Facebook post.
This is “with an aim of promoting local investment and entrepreneurship amid Covid-19 pandemic”, it says.
“Interested individuals are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and submit their applications by clicking on this link.”
The link is to a Google Form where people are asked to submit personal information such as their full name, email address and phone number.
But is the offer genuine? We checked.
The announcement does not feature on the finance ministry’s website.
The site’s most recent update as at 21 July was a press release posted on 14 July refuting allegations of cross-border crime against president Edgar Lungu.
Africa Check asked IMF communications officer Kwabena Akuamoah-Boateng if the post was genuine and whether the Zambian government, World Bank and IMF were running such a grant scheme.
“This is indeed false and a replication of a scam we have seen before,” he told us. – Dancan Bwire
This is “with an aim of promoting local investment and entrepreneurship amid Covid-19 pandemic”, it says.
“Interested individuals are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and submit their applications by clicking on this link.”
The link is to a Google Form where people are asked to submit personal information such as their full name, email address and phone number.
But is the offer genuine? We checked.
No mention on ministry website
The announcement does not feature on the finance ministry’s website.
The site’s most recent update as at 21 July was a press release posted on 14 July refuting allegations of cross-border crime against president Edgar Lungu.
‘A scam we have seen before’
Africa Check asked IMF communications officer Kwabena Akuamoah-Boateng if the post was genuine and whether the Zambian government, World Bank and IMF were running such a grant scheme.
“This is indeed false and a replication of a scam we have seen before,” he told us. – Dancan Bwire
Republish our content for free
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?
Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
Add new comment