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Trade & Industry
The Competition and Consumer Protection Act of
2010 established an autonomous corporate body
under the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Indus-
try called the Zambia Competition and Consumer
Protection Commission (CCPC). The act was devel-
oped in order to encourage competition within the
economy, protect consumer welfare, strengthen the
efficiency of production and distribution of goods and
services, secure the best possible conditions for the
freedom of trade, and expand the base of entrepre-
neurship. The CCPC has a wide range of powers
of enforcement and investigation under this act, and
the commission has achieved success in dealing
with a variety of market distortions and protecting the
competition process. This has, therefore, rendered
the Zambian market more attractive to investors.
Continuing the work of the Small Enterprise Devel-
opment Board (SEDB), following the amalgamation
with the Zambia Development Agency, the Small
and Medium Enterprises (SME) Division is charged
with analyzing the needs of businesses and devel-
oping products and services, particularly for small
and medium-sized enterprises to be delivered both
nationally and at regional level. It also monitors the
overall effectiveness of local business programs and
manages programs such as the Trade and Industrial
Development Fund. It maintains close ties with rele-
vant partners, including small business associations
and NGOs involved in the SME sector.
The importance of the SME sector to job creation
and wealth distribution cannot be overemphasized.
The government acknowledges this, and it has con-
tinued to work diligently with institutions supporting
the development of business management and en-
trepreneurship skills in order to ensure that Zambi-
ans are sufficiently qualified to undertake both small
and large-scale business ventures.
Economic empow
erment
The Citizens’ Economic Empowerment Act of 2006
established the Citizens’ Economic Empowerment
Commission (CEEC) and the Citizens’ Economic
Empowerment Fund with the intention of promot-
ing the economic empowerment of citizens. These
groups particularly focus on those who have been
marginalized, disadvantaged, and whose access to
economic resources and development capacity have
been limited due to factors such as race, sex, educa-
tional background, or disabilities.
The National Savings and Credit Bank (NatSave)
have adopted a group lending microfinancing
scheme as a pilot project in Luanshya and Petauke.
The program is meant to help make financing SMEs
more accessible.
A K349 million loan portfolio has been created. Cus-
tomers must undergo an eight-week training pro-
gram on business fundamentals in management be-
fore becoming eligible for the loan. The program has
now been launched at 27 other Natsave branches
across the country.
Manufacturing
performance
Despite the many challenges created by market lib-
eralization, the manufacturing sector has performed
relatively well over the past decade, and it has be-
come an important catalyst of private sector devel-
opment in Zambia.
The government has been working on expanding the
country’s manufacturing base by reducing the cost of
doing business through various initiatives. Currently,
the government is promoting the establishment of
multi-facility economic zones (MFEZ) by providing
fiscal incentives, quality infrastructure, and a favor-
able regulatory environment to the developers of
these zones.
Nevertheless, the manufacturing sector needs to
diversify to produce a wider variety of high quality,
value-added intermediate and final products aimed
at export markets. Engineering, textiles, wood and
wood products, building materials, processed Foods,
chemicals, leather and leather products, and handi-
crafts offer potential opportunities for such growth.
Institutions & Pol
icies
Manufacturing incentives are available in order to
foster a strong manufacturing sector with the in-
tention of achieving broad-based economic growth
and reducing the national dependence on imports.
Over the past several years, the government has
increased its efforts to provide an enabling environ-
ment for growth, and it offers manufacturers a num-
ber of enticing incentives.
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Investment opportunities in the manufacturing sec-
tor are presently centered around the production of
engineered products and agro-processing, which in-
clude crops such as tobacco, coffee, tea, soy beans,
maize, sunflower, and cottonseed. Another particu-
