GERMAN CONNECTION
A variety of German companies operate in Zambia, importing technology and know-how and improving the countries' relationship.
Achelis is a German-based company with headquarters in Bremen and subsidiaries all over Eastern Africa. Our regional hubs include Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, where we have workshops and distributorships for equipment and generators in stock. In Zambia, we are quite small, with our main focus in public procurement. We participate in government tenders and tenders by state-entities such as Zambia Railways and ZESCO. Since establishing here in 1996, although we are slightly on the small scale, we have done great business and experienced good turnover in the country. We benefited from the Zambian government's project to issue euro bonds, which is partly what led us to invest in the country and remain open to business here. Some of our biggest projects include working with ZESCO on XPLEcables and line material, working with the Ministry of Health, as well as on a EUR4 million deal with Zambia Railways for a rescue crane for rail accidents. In terms of latest developments, on the whole we are purely focused on working with governmental agencies. We seek to establish a business model financing medium-scale companies in Zambia.
When the company was initially founded in 1958 with an original branch in Ndola and one opening in Lusaka shortly after, we undertook a broad band of contracting services, including Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning & Refrigeration (HVAC-R), plumbing, and electrical. In the early 1990s, we decided to specialize and focus on heating ventilation air conditioning and refrigeration only. With our focus on HVAC-R we have now become the largest contractor and distributor in this sector in Zambia, offering services of the highest standard and quality. Drake & Gorham has always been an innovator and trendsetter. We were the first company in Zambia to manufacture display fridges in the early 1980s. We were the first company in Zambia to partner with the air conditioner manufacturer Samsung, roughly 20 years ago. Drake & Gorham is also the sole distributor for Daikin, the largest air conditioning manufacturer in the world, and also have our own in-house brand, Dragor, popular in the Zambian market. We are thus able to offer the most innovative air conditioning and refrigeration equipment globally available.
In Zambia, our main business segments are water supply, sanitation, and transportation. Elsewhere in the region, we are engaged in different projects for harbors, airports, and railways. In Zambia, however, these facilities, in particular railways, have not received much attention to date. It is our belief that rail could be the future solution to relieve the congestion of Zambia's roads, and Gauff could be a potential partner in revolutionizing Zambia's transportation make-up. In the consulting engineering industry, we see more and more companies coming into Zambia looking for business. Those firms come from nearby countries like South Africa, where perhaps the market situation has become more challenging. Zambia provides a wealth of opportunities for infrastructure-related projects. Indeed, in Lusaka and the Copperbelt Province, we are seeing a multitude of large-scale investments being made in the water sector: USD200 million provided by EIB for Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company, MCC's investment of USD355 million in Lusaka's water, sanitation, and drainage infrastructure, and over USD250 million for Lusaka Sanitation Program, financed by the World Bank, EIB, KfW, and the African Development Bank.
GERMAN CONNECTION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Year In Review
What A Year
Zambia has long been a bastion of stability in Southern Africa, and while its economy has been rocked in recent years by the falling value of copper prices, a devaluating kwacha, and high inflation, through the Economic Recovery Program the government has bold ambitions to right the ship.
read articleReview
Convoke, Confound & Collect
Squeezed between a rock and a rather hard place by the slowdown in Chinese demand for copper, by far Zambia's biggest export and government-revenue generator, President Lungu has been forced to get creative in his country's alliances to broaden revenue streams and lessen its dependence on the vagaries of one foreign market.
read articleGuest Speaker
Dr. Stergomena L. Tax, Executive Secretary, Southern African Development Community (SADC)
TBY talks to Dr. Stergomena L. Tax, Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), on regional economic development, boosting pan-continental free trade agreements, and improving security through mutual development.
read articleInterview
Susan Sikaneta, Ambassador, Zambia to Ethiopia & Permanent Representative to the African Union and Economic Commission for Africa
TBY talks to Susan Sikaneta, Ambassador of Zambia to Ethiopia & Permanent Representative to the African Union and Economic Commission for Africa, on championing peace across the continent, advancing women's rights, and promoting Pan-Africanism.
read articleInterview
Sebastian C. Kopulande, CEO, Zambian International Trade & Investment Centre (ZITIC)
TBY talks to Sebastian C. Kopulande, CEO of Zambian International Trade & Investment Centre (ZITIC), on taming austerity, stimulating sustainable growth, and creating the framework to support entrepreneurship
read articleFocus: Zambia Plus
Adding it All Up
On October 20, 2016, at the 2017 Budget Address, Finance Minister Felix Mutati launched the government's economic recovery program, christened "Zambia Plus." The program is designed to spur domestic productivity, through strengthening ties and collaborating with external donors and developers.
read articleReview: Banking
Macroeconomics Rule the Roost
In its ongoing efforts to diversify away from one principal commodity, copper, the government fosters the development, standardization, and efficacy of the private sector. In doing so the systematic support of the financial universe, especially banks, is vital, as is the goal of financial inclusion.
read articleFocus: SME Growth
IMF support program
An IMF support program stands to provide Zambia with some much-needed discipline on its expenditure and operational efficiencies; however, many caution the need for Zambia to determine what it wants to achieve and how the program will benefit the country.
read articleInterview
Christabel M. Banda, Executive Director, Insurers Association of Zambia (IAZ)
TBY talks to Christabel M. Banda, Executive Director of Insurers Association of Zambia (IAZ), on the evolution of the local insurance landscape, raising awareness, and tackling challenges in the sector.
read articleFocus: Solar
Sunny Side Up
As power demand continues to rise and power production continues to fall behind, it's the same old story for Zambia, still wrestling with an ongoing energy crisis. Public- and private-sector drives are seeking to mitigate this deficit by activating the country's solar industry.
read articleInterview
Margaret K. Chalwe-Mudenda, Director General, Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA)
TBY talks to Margaret K. Chalwe-Mudenda, Director General of Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA), on new projects, the ZNDC, and expectations for the year ahead.
read articleInterview
Hon. Dora Siliya, Minister, Agriculture
TBY talks to Hon. Dora Siliya, Minister of Agriculture, on the investments being made in agriculture to enable agricultural households, diversifying Zambia's basket of produce, and making international markets more accessible for local producers.
read articleInterview
Hon. Charles R. Banda, Minister, Tourism and Arts
TBY talks to Hon. Charles R. Banda, Minister of Tourism and Arts, on the wealth of tourism destinations within Zambia, efforts to bring more visitors to the country, and what the Tourism Development Fund will contribute to developments.
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