Zambia reviews green industry studies and regional value-chain options

Zambian stakeholders urged closer links between natural resources, energy and domestic manufacturing at a Lusaka workshop, according to ECA’s original release dated 31 August 2026. The account attributes recommendations to officials and business representatives; it does not independently verify new factory investments or financing commitments. The ECA-led initiative, supported by UN Trade and Development, covers Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Participants reviewed four studies addressing green industrial policy, technology transfer and upgrading, the energy transition, and private-sector and MSME participation in the circular economy. The immediate objective was to translate regional findings into practical policy options. Permanent Secretary Crusivia Hichikumba linked climate pressures to industrial production, food security, investment and economic growth. He highlighted drought-related hydropower constraints and the case for a more diverse energy mix, particularly solar. Reliable water, transport and energy systems were presented as foundations for manufacturing and regional trade, alongside skills, innovation, finance and cooperation. ECA’s Olayinka Bandele pointed to copper, gemstones and demand for energy-transition minerals as opportunities for domestic processing, refining and component manufacturing. Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry trustee Paul Chisunka proposed a regional Lusaka Compact on Green Industrialisation. His examples included copper cables, battery precursor materials, energy and fertiliser from agricultural waste, and dependable solar power for production. He also offered chamber cooperation on supplier connections and financing and regulatory bottlenecks. Nexus analysis The source’s central proposition is integration: energy, minerals, factories, trade and skills need to be considered together rather than as disconnected opportunities. That is particularly relevant where power constraints can undermine local processing. The proposed compact is nevertheless a business representative’s recommendation in this record, not an adopted regional agreement. Factory construction, local supplier growth and improved livelihoods were suggested tests of success, not outcomes demonstrated by the workshop.