Background

The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) is Zambia’s premier economic development Agency with a multifaceted mandate of promoting and facilitating investment, trade and business development in the country. ZDA was created under Act No 11 of 2006 and became operational in 2007. The Agency reports to the Ministry of Commerce Trade and Industry (MCTI). In terms of organizational structure, the ZDA Board, which is supported by sub-committees sets the governance, policy and strategic direction of the institution with a Management team responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Agency, led by the Director General (DG).

ZDA was formed as a one-stop shop after combining five independent statutory bodies that included; Zambia Investment Centre, Export Board of Zambia, Zambia Privatization Agency, Small Enterprises Development Board and the Zambia Export Processing Zones Authority

Organizational Structure

The Agency is made up of six divisions, consisting of two divisions that is Administration and Finance plus Legal and Board Secretarial offering support functions. The other three divisions are the core divisions of the ZDA which help achieve the mandate of ZDA,   these are: (i) Investments ;( ii) Export Development; and (iii) Policy and Planning.

Due to recent policy direction with the creation of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development (SMED) Ministry, the sixth division of ZDA that is the Enterprise Development Division is not discussed in this Article as there are some transitional considerations that need to be concluded after pending legislative review of the ZDA Act.

All the divisions play a paramount role in enhancing the country’s investment profile for increased capital inflows, capital formation and employment creation.

1. Investment Division

Under the investment division, the Agency is responsible for scaling up investments inflows through targeted marketing and promotion of Zambia as the ‘Best Investment Destination’ in order to achieve the national economic goals of creating jobs and wealth for the Zambian people. Currently the Agency is developing and realigning its strategic plan to attain the objectives of the Eighth National Development Plan particularly the Economic Diversification and Job creation pillar. This objective is achieved through, facilitation of inward and outward investment missions to generate investment transactions, issuance of Investment Certificate of Registration (Investment License), facilitation of secondary licenses and post-establishment industrial visitations (Aftercare Services) aimed at improving investment climate and identifying investment opportunities for expansion as well as diversification.

Further the Agency also regulates, guides and monitors the establishment and performance of multi facility economic zones and industrial parks.

Further, the Agency facilitates for both fiscal (tax) and non-fiscal (non-tax) incentives to investors both local and foreign that satisfy three major parameters which are: (i) investing in a priority sector; (ii) meeting the minimum investment threshold; and (iii) the location of the investment.

Eligibility criterion

• Priority Sector – Currently the priority sectors as presented in government policy documents include agriculture, manufacturing, energy, tourism and infrastructure development.
• Investment threshold – Investors should meet the minimum investment threshold which is two hundred and fifty thousand United States Dollars (US$ 250,000) and five hundred thousand United States Dollars (US $500,000) for non-fiscal and fiscal incentives for foreign investors respectively. On the other hand, for local investors, the minimum investment threshold is fifty thousand United States Dollars (US$ 50,000).

• Location of investment- The third and last parameter is that the investment should be located either in a special economic zone which include Multi – Facility Economic Zones and Industrial Parks or a Rural Area.

2. Export Development Division.

Under the export development mandate, the Agency is responsible for promoting Zambia as a reliable and competitive source for export products which include all goods and services. The goods and services include both traditional and non-traditional exports comprising of copper and cobalt, and all other products respectively. The promotional activities are specifically designed and implemented to stimulate exports to existing and new markets for established exporters as well as potential exporters.

The Promotional activities include trade missions, trade fairs, buyer seller meeting and expositions. The Agency promotes Zambia’s exports to the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Asia, Middle East, European Union, United Kingdom, United States of America under African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and to the rest of the world

ZDA also organises structured capacity building programmes and training for Zambian exporters. The capacity building programmes target different sectors and exporter groups, including women and youth. Further, the Agency provides support on exporter competitiveness, delivers competitive market intelligence services, and supports exporters and government in the design and implementation of trade development strategies.

The Agency also provides a number of platforms that support exporters and business associations in advocating for trade policy strategies and reform of policies and regulations at national and regional levels. Through this function, ZDA promotes an inclusive public-private dialogue to address obstacles to international trade and to make recommendation to government on how to resolve trade barriers.

ZDA also facilitates incentives for eligible exporters in order to promote the export of Zambian products. The incentives include reduced tax on income from non-traditional exports, Tax holidays for 10 years for exports produced in MFEZ, VAT refunds and Duty Drawback Schemes.

In addition, ZDA has the duty to provide business development services to growth oriented businesses through trainings, coaching and mentoring, value chain development, product development, and facilitation of export and investment incentives, tax rebate, joint ventures, partnerships and business linkages.

3. Policy and Planning Division

The Policy and Planning division is responsible for directing research, policy advocacy and articulating the country’s position on trade and economic development and measures for equitable access to economic and productive resources.

The division is also responsible for conducting research related to trade, business development, investment, industrial development and business environment in order to contribute to the formulation of policy aimed at improving Zambia’s attractiveness and competitiveness.

All the above efforts by the Agency are aimed at enhancing the country’s investment profile for increased capital inflows, capital formation and employment creation by being the goal between government and the private sector.

The Agency works with the private sector through business associations and chambers of commerce to ensure that the business environment keeps improving for the private sector to flourish.

For queries or any further information,

Contact the Communications and Public Relations Unit,

Zambia Development Agency,

Nasser Road, Privatisation House,

P.O. Box 30819,

Lusaka.

Email: info@zda.org.zm

Tel: +260 211 220 177