USAID TradeBoost and the Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) signed an agreement that will ultimately attract more investment in Zambian enterprises. The agreement solidifies support for ZAM members to better follow global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards and ultimately attract greater foreign investment. This partnership will create a manufacturing sector in Zambia that embraces strong governance standards, protects workers’ rights, applies environmentally friendly practices, introduces new technologies, and attracts investment in Zambian enterprises.
The agreement was signed between ZAM President, Ashu Sagar, and USAID TradeBoost Chief of Party, Juan Estrada-Valle. Minister of Science and Technology, Felix Mutati, Minister of Small and Medium Enterprise Development, Elias Mubanga, and USAID Mission Director, Peter Wiebler, spoke at an event launching the agreement and stressed the importance of investing in Zambia.
Through this agreement, 40 ZAM members will be trained on best practices for cleaner production processes and technologies and how to produce competitive goods that meet international best practices to ultimately ensure market access. Through improved ESG practices, market opportunities open up for entry, since buyers want to support companies that are responsible corporate citizens. Therefore, these practices will position ZAM member firms to attract investments from the U.S., connect with U.S. buyers, and take advantage of trade preferences offered through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) when exporting to the U.S. Additionally, 10 ZAM members that successfully completed ESG training will partner with U.S. firms to facilitate green-technology transfer that reduces greenhouse gas emissions. To ensure equity in its support, 30 percent of businesses that benefit from this program will be led by women and/or youth.
This new partnership follows a series of significant U.S. government investments in Zambia, such as the inaugural U.S.-Zambia Business Summit and the over $44 million U.S. Government investment through USAID TradeBoost and the USAID Business Enabling Project to create an environment that addresses trade, agriculture, clean energy, and eco-tourism challenges in Zambia.
These investments, along with the new agreement with ZAM, illustrate the U.S. government’s commitment to partnership with the people of Zambia to increase two-way trade and investment, foster an environment that will lead businesses to thrive, and create Zambian jobs that will increase sustainable economic development and expand the Zambia’s influence in the broader regional economy.
