Agro-consultants eye Zambia’s lucrative value chains

Michael Tome in Lusaka, Zambia

LOCAL agro-industrial consultancy firms have identified significant opportunities in Zambia for the provision of specialised services such as agricultural certification, industrial standards compliance and engineering solutions.

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This emerged during the Services Business Mission to Zambia organised by ZimTrade.

During the visit, Zimbabwean specialised service providers met with potential partners in Lusaka.

Agrocert subsidiary, ETILOP business solutions managing consultant, Mrs Pauline Mutombeni, said Zambia presented vast opportunities for Zimbabwean companies that provide agriculture and industrial standards consultancy services.

ETILOP helps organisations to attain standards that ensure that products, processes and systems meet baseline requirements for safety, reliability and quality.

According to Mrs Mutombeni, the mission provided a platform for Zimbabwean businesses to showcase their expertise and identified areas where their services could support Zambia’s industrial and agricultural development.

Mrs Mutombeni said engagements with Zambian companies during the mission had revealed a strong demand for standards consultancy, particularly in food safety, quality management and occupational health and safety systems.

“The Services Business Mission to Zambia has opened up new business opportunities for us as Zimbabwean consultants. We have received a number of enquiries that we will follow up to establish business relationships in Zambia.

“Most industries here are doing very well, but there is room for improvement in areas such as safety requirements. This gives us an opportunity to assist them to meet international standards,” said Mrs Mutombeni.

She added that discussions with Zambian companies such as Saro Agri Industrial Limited had opened potential avenues for future partnerships.

OMEC Engineering Technical Services’ market expansion and business development director, Mr Itayi Kureya, said the Zambian market offered huge potential for Zimbabwean engineering firms and agriculture-related services.

He said his company had identified demand for agricultural equipment, including towable implements, steel structures, grading sheds and other solutions that support commercial farming operations.

Mr Kureya said his company had already engaged several Zambian companies interested in its products, particularly towable graders and agriculture support equipment.

“There is great potential in this market, especially in agribusiness services. Zimbabwean companies in the engineering sector must come and explore opportunities in Zambia because the potential is very significant

“Most companies that we visited showed interest in our towed graders. We have also seen opportunities in steel structures, grading sheds and low-cost equipment that supports the agriculture sector,” said Mr Kureya.

Mr Kureya said the services business mission had demonstrated the importance of regional cooperation in expanding trade in services between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

“We want to thank the Government of Zimbabwe for facilitating these initiatives. Zimbabwe is open for business and Zambia is also open for business.

“This market provides fertile ground for companies looking for growth opportunities,” he said.

On Thursday, Saro Agri Industrial Limited hosted Zimbabwean companies. During the engagement, the company’s senior general manager, Mr Milind Amin, expressed interest in collaborating with local firms.

Mr Amin highlighted opportunities for partnerships in farming and industrial standards consultancy, as well as the possible supply of toured graders from Zimbabwe.

“We explored potential areas of collaboration and there are significant opportunities for partnerships in farming services, industrial standards consultancy and the possible supply of toured graders from Zimbabwe.

“We believe working together with Zimbabwean firms can create value, enhance technical capacity and contribute to the growth of the agriculture sector in both countries,” said Mr Amin.

The mission is part of Zimbabwe’s export diversification drive aimed at increasing the country’s participation in regional trade in services, while enabling local companies to access new markets and generate foreign currency earnings.