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Zambia has reportedly recorded US$8.9 billion in actualised investments over the past three years.
The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) disclosed this information at a press briefing on Friday, noting that the figure is part of the US$54 billion in committed investments for the period from 2021 to 2024.
According to ZDA Director-General, Albert Halwampa, the $8.9 billion was actualised by 440 companies out of the 1,048 registered during this period.
He explained that the actualised investment exceeded the committed value of US$7.9 billion from the responding companies, representing a 113 percent actualisation rate.
“Data from the remaining 608 companies is still pending due to slow responses. Once all the data is received, we will communicate the final actualized investment figure accordingly,” Halwampa stated.
It was reported that the mining sector emerged as the top contributor, accounting for US$3.34 billion, which represented 34.91 percent of the total actualised investments.
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The manufacturing sector followed closely, with US$3.10 billion, representing 34.85 percent.
These two sectors alone contributed nearly 70 percent of the total realised investments, underscoring their critical role in Zambia’s economic development.
The ZDA highlighted that these investments had not only strengthened Zambia’s economic foundation but also demonstrated investor confidence in the country’s business environment.
In addition to the financial investments, Halwampa reported that the actualised investments resulted in the creation of 36,045 jobs, significantly exceeding the committed employment figure of 29,009 from the 440 companies that responded.
This represented an actualization rate of 124.3 percent.
“The breakdown of job creation is as follows: manufacturing led with 12,460 jobs, or 34.5 percent, followed by mining with 9,692 jobs, or 26.8 percent. The transport sector accounted for 6,133 jobs, agriculture 3,049, and services 2,554,” Halwampa detailed.
The Director-General stated that the actualization rates in both investment and employment reflect the positive impact of the ZDA’s strategies and the responsiveness of the private sector to government policies.
Halwampa noted that the final actualised investment figures would be released once the remaining data from the 608 registered companies was received.
The delay in data collection had been attributed to slow responses from some companies, but efforts are being made to gather the information promptly.
The ZDA remained optimistic about the future, with expectations that the ongoing monitoring and evaluation would provide a more comprehensive picture of the actualized investments and their impact on Zambia’s economic landscape.
Halwampa also reiterated ZDA’s commitment to fostering economic diversification by attracting investments in sectors beyond mining and manufacturing.
He highlighted that the agency would continue to target investments in agriculture, energy and services to build a more resilient and inclusive economy.
ZDA said it was hopeful that the country would maintain its upward trajectory in attracting and realising foreign direct investment.
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