• This is compared to 74 investment ventures recorded in the same period in 2022 with an investment of US$ 240.13 million.
• The key sectors included Energy, Manufacturing and Agriculture with the highest investment in energy worth US$ 8 billion.
• 13,435 jobs were recorded from the 81 investment ventures.

Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) has disclosed that it registered 81 investment ventures in quarter one of 2023 with an investment value of US$8.57 billion.
Speaking at a media briefing, Agency Director General, Albert Halwampa said this is compared to 74 investment ventures recorded in the same period in 2022 with an investment of US$ 240.13 million, representing an increase of 3463.61 percent.
Mr. Halwampa stated that the key sectors included Energy, Manufacturing and Agriculture with the highest investment in energy worth US$ 8 billion representing 93.57 percent, followed by manufacturing with US$252 million, representing 3%, and US$79 million in the agriculture sector representing 0.94%.
He added that 13,435 jobs were recorded from the 81 investment ventures registered compared to 4,829 jobs recorded from the 74 investment ventures recorded during the same period in 2022.
“The Agency undertakes monitoring and evaluation of enterprises as a way of ascertaining the level of project implementation and actualized investments. During the period under review, 11 Investment ventures were monitored recording actualized investment of US$ 122.01 million and 2,765 jobs.”
“The country recorded total exports worth US$ 3.45 billion out of which USD 2.52 billion were traditional exports and US$ 0.92 billion worth of Non-traditional exports (NTEs). There was an increase in total export earnings by 15 percent from US$ 3 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2022 to US$ 3.45 billion in the corresponding period in 2023,” he stated.
He further disclosed that traditional exports grew by 11 percent from US$2.28 recorded in 2022 to US$ 2.52 billion recorded in the same period in 2023, while Non-traditional exports increased by 28 percent from US$ 0.77 recorded in 2022 to US$ 0.92 billion recorded in 2023.
“The Agency facilitated market access for 20 exporters to potential buyers. 101 exporters were audited under exporter audit on the Copperbelt, Lusaka and Eastern Provinces. 118 exporters were trained in export readiness,” he added.
Mr. Halwampa further said with regards to Business Development, 1, 989 Businesses accessed Business Information and Market Intelligence (BIMI) while large companies were engaged for business opportunities under inclusive business.
He said the Agency has considerably reduced the period for the issuance of Investment Licences to below ten days in line with Government policy.