Bridging Business through JICA: A New Connection between Zambia and Japan

A Zambian SME supported by JICA has exhibited their products at Expo2025 Osaka, Kansai! Let me report our recent activities in Zambia, bridging business partnership between the two countries.

In November 2024, the JICA Zambia office received exciting news. Mupapa Wood Ltd., a participant in the Business Empowerment Programme for SMEs in the manufacturing sector, jointly implemented by JICA and the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise Development (MSMED), was selected to exhibit their products at the Zambia booth of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. The company's founder and CEO, Ms. Chande, said, "Through the Empowerment Programme, we learned about Kaizen and management know-how, which immediately improved our productivity and quality. The increased evaluation of our products led to the opportunity to exhibit at the Expo. JICA has connected us to the world," she said with a smile. Ms. Chande expressed her desire to enhance competitiveness in order to enter overseas markets, including Japan, and her passionate words were truly inspiring.

Zambia's economy heavily relies on copper mining, and manufacturing is a key industry for diversification. With its relatively high employment absorption capacity, manufacturing is expected to play a role in creating job opportunities for the younger ages. The Empowerment Programme focuses on manufacturing and targets SMEs with high growth potential. It supports their growth by providing a series of trainings and workshops to strengthen business management capabilities. Since its inception in April 2024, the Programme has created over 100 new job opportunities across 30 participating companies and achieved revenue increases exceeding 1million Kwacha (approx. 6million JPY).

One highly-evaluated of the contents in the programme was the Kaizen training provided by the Kaizen Institute of Zambia (KiZ). Established in 2014 in collaboration with JICA, KiZ provides specialised consulting services in Kaizen. JICA has supported KiZ's establishment and human resource development. By incorporating Kaizen training into the Empowerment Programme, the Programme gave more practical benefits to the participating companies, KiZ expanded its business scope and JICA furthered its cooperation outcomes. The training also strengthened the relationship between KiZ and the MSMED, leading to plans to implement the Kaizen programme in the industrial parks. This initiative has benefited the participating companies, KiZ, JICA and the Ministry, demonstrating JICA's role as a catalyst that connects various stakeholders and promotes further development.

JICA's efforts in private sector development in Zambia include promoting business exchanges between Zambia and Japan. While the Zambian government seeks foreign investment, Japanese companies' presence remains limited. In order to tackle on this challenge, JICA organised a business study tour for Japanese companies focusing on agricultural products and processing in October 2024. Seven participants from five Japanese companies joined the tour, which included farm site visits and networking events. The participants highly appreciated the arrangement of visits and matching opportunities facilitated by utilising JICA's local network. Some companies found local partners and have been preparing for business collaboration.
This tour was the first experience by the Zambia office, reaffirming the strength of JICA's network with local stakeholders and its potential to facilitate business exchanges between the two countries. We plan to organize similar tours in 2025, in order to continue promoting business partnership between Zambia and Japan.

Zambia's population is currently around 20 million, and it is projected to exceed 40 million around the 2050s. Looking at the Southern African Region and the entire continent, a massive economic zone is emerging. The development potential and its impact are immeasurable. We aim to continue utilising our cooperation assets and networks to promote private sector development and serve as a bridge connecting Japan and Zambia.