A South African delegation comprised of 14 companies totaling 38 business people, has visited Zambia between October 6th – 8th, 2015 to explore investment opportunities in the Copperbelt and North Western provinces and to promote and strengthen bilateral trade.
The Outward Selling and Investment Mission to Zambia was led by South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Rob Davies, and count with the participation of companies from the energy, agro-processing, capital equipment, infrastructure, metals and healthcare mainly.
South Africa is Zambia’s main trading partner totaling ZAR 28 billion in 2014 while imports to South Africa from Zambia totaled ZAR 1 billion in the same period, becoming Zambia the fourth main South Africa’s trading partner, explained Minister Davies.
There is a ZAR 28 billion gap between both countries, reason why South Africa is seeking investments in key sectors to promote trade and raise Zambia’s employment on the long term, Minister Davies added.
The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Director of Investment Agnes Chaila invited the South African delegation to invest mostly in the manufacturing sector which represents the greatest potential for them due to their experience in natural resources exploitation.
The Zambian manufacturing sector currently represents 11% of the country’s GDP while the whole industry sector do so over 33% according to ZDA.
