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

The International trade Centre has strengthened its support to investment promotion agencies (IPAs) in Mozambique and Zambia with tailor-made solutions that include the development of investment promotion portals, capacity building, the hiring of Chinese-speaking experts to support Chinese desks, and online learning courses.

A second round of training for Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) and Mozambique’s Agency for Promotion of Investment and Exports (APIEX) supports a strategy for attracting Chinese investment, while staff from other specialized agencies involved in the investment promotion process in Mozambique and Zambia have also been included in the training.

The training has been opened up to provide an overall experience to potential investors with the goal of attracting investments with a high development impact. The involvement of staff from specialized entities in the agroprocessing and light manufacturing sectors has proved beneficial for generating investment leads.

Two workshops on preparing greenfield investment business proposals and preparing qualitative promotion materials for the agroprocessing and light manufacturing sectors were delivered in Mozambique and Zambia. Thirty-six participants attended the training and will receive coaching in coming months to finalize their investment project proposals, pitch them and negotiate with investors.

A participant from Zambia said: “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!”

Investment missions

Two workshops on preparing inward and outward investment missions were also delivered, involving 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,” said Denise Panguene, an APIEX officer.

The International Trade Centre (ITC) has been supporting investment promotion agencies (IPAs) in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia to strengthen their services so that they can better attract impactful foreign investments that benefit their economies and contribute to achieving development priorities, as part of its Partnership and Investment for Growth in Africa (PIGA) project.

PIGA is part of Invest Africa, 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.

As part of Invest Africa, 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).