The Zambian Government welcomes investors across sectors because it realises the value addition and importance of FDI, hence its continued commitment to formulate and implement policies that boost investor confidence and create a positive economic and business environment for investment.
Commonly referred to as “the beacon of hope and peace”, Zambia remains one of the best investment destinations of choice because of the political and social stability as well as a healthy macroeconomic environment, exhibiting economic growth since its independence in 1964.
Backed by rich natural resources such as copper and cobalt, the mining sector has for many years been the backbone of the country’s expanding economy. However, with the growing population and increased demand for development, the government has made commendable efforts to diversify the
economy, which has led to some sectors being given more attention for increased value action.
One such recent initiative is the launch of the Seventh National Development Plan – 7NDP for the period 2017 to 2021, which was launched by the Republic’s President in June 2017.
The Plan, like the three national development plans (NDPs) that preceded it, is aimed at attaining the long-term objectives as outlined in the Vision 2030 of becoming a “prosperous middle-income country by 2030”. It builds on the achievements and lessons learnt during the implementation of the previous NDPs. The Seventh National Development Plan starts from sectoral-based planning to an integrated (multi-sectoral) development approach under the theme “Acceleratingdevelopment efforts towards the Vision 2030 without leaving anyone behind”.
The goal of the 7NDP is to create a diversified and resilient economy for sustained growth and socioeconomic transformation driven, among others, by agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and mining. Furthermore, this Plan responds to the Smart Zambia transformation agenda 2064 and embeds in it the economic stabilisation and growth necessary for the actualisation of a Smart Zambia.
Furthermore, the country’s land-linked and central location in the region, as well as a combination of the following key strengths, are some of the country’s undertakings in its bid to attract new foreign investment:
- Abundance of natural resources and manpower, which are highly under-utilized
- Political Stability since attaining independence in 1964
- No controls on prices, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, free repatriation of debt repayments
- Guarantees and security to investors with legislated rights to full and market value compensation
- Duty-free access to regional, wider African and the USA markets under SADC, COMESA/FTA and AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act), respectively
- Banking, financial, legal and insurance services of international standard as well as a stock exchange
- Double Taxation Agreements with a number of European, North American, African and Asian countries
- Good place to work and live – sub-tropical climate and vegetation with plenty of water. Friendly people, mostly English-speaking, with a high literacy rate. Educational establishments at university level. Strong religious values. Open-air lifestyle with nature reserves, game parks, rivers, lakes and waterfalls
- Thriving private sector: the government has successfully privatised most of the previously state-owned enterprises, thus fostering an entrepreneurial culture
