Mozambique and Zambia’s investment promotion agencies supported to strengthen their investment promotion services (en)

As part of the Partnership and Investment for Growth in Africa (PIGA) project, the International Trade Centre (ITC) has been supporting investment promotion agencies (IPAs) in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia to strengthen their services to attract impactful foreign investments benefiting their economies and contributing to achieving development priorities.

Support is tailor-made based on each IPA’s needs, and included various activities such as: the development of investment promotion portals, capacity building trainings, the hiring of Chinese-speaking experts to support IPAs’ Chinese desks, online learning courses, support to develop APIEX’s strategy for attracting Chinese investment. This second round of training is organized for APIEX and ZDA staff as well as staff from other specialized agencies involved in the investment promotion process in Mozambique and Zambia.

Indeed, involving specialized entities in the agro-processing and light manufacturing sector roadshows organized within PIGA has proved beneficial for leads progress. As a result, the trainings have been opened to some staff of these institutions to provide an overall qualitative experience to potential investors with the goal of attracting investments with a high potential developmental impact.

Developing attractive investment projects

Two workshops on preparing greenfield investment business proposals and preparing qualitative promotion materials for the agro-processing and light manufacturing sectors were delivered in Mozambique and Zambia.

Thirty-six participants attended the trainings and will receive coaching in the following months to finalize their investment project proposals, pitch them and negotiate with investors.

A participant from Zambia reported, “It was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative workshop. The interactive format for the training made for very stimulating conversation and input from all the participants. I am looking forward to working on the investment project proposals!”

Making the most of inward and outward investment missions

Two workshops on inward and outward investment mission preparation were delivered and involved 32 participants.

“I will use the tools and knowledge learned in my daily work to plan events and missions; they are so useful. I think tools like the Responsibility Assignment Matrix should be put into our working systems as an organization,” explained Denise Panguene, an APIEX officer.

PIGA is part of Invest Africa (IA), a flagship programme of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s Department for International Development (DFID) facilitating foreign direct investment with high development impact into selected African countries. Under IA, PIGA aims to contribute to job creation and sustainable growth in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia by supporting these countries to attract foreign direct investment, specifically Chinese investment, in the agro-processing and light manufacturing sectors. PIGA is also designed to enhance the capacity of these countries for effective investment promotion.
PIGA is implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) in cooperation with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the China–Africa Development Fund (CADFund).