As the keynote speaker at the recently concluded Pangaea Securities Zambia Investment Conference, Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, indicated that he will investigate the feasibility of establishing a low-cost Zambian airline.
According to Sir Branson, a number of exciting business opportunities are available in Zambia to entrepreneurs and the need for reliable and cost-efficient international access to the country is important to potential investors that could contribute to the growth of the national economy.
With the understanding that the lack of affordable international access to country is detrimental to its growth and development, Sir Branson indicated that Virgin Atlantic will assess the viability of the Zambian market and will consider the option of launching a direct London-Lusaka route.
“When I leave, I will look at the feasibility,” he said, “and see whether we can make the figures work.”
He went on to encourage Zambian entrepreneurs to get involved in the establishment of a low-cost airline and encouraged the government to create an environment where these entrepreneurs could thrive and bring more business to the country.
“There are a lot of opportunities in Zambia for businesses to expand and I think most of those businesses should be [run] by Zambians rather than people like myself,” he concluded.
