ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc (ZCCM-IH) invited by the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) to be part of the Zambian delegation, attended the 6th Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD) Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya from 26th to 28th August 2016.
During the Summit, ZCCM-IH represented by the Chief Executive Officer Dr Pius Kasolo and Portfolio Analyst Tapiwa Msusa, made interactions with Japanese companies involved the power sector.
Sumitomo Corporation was one of the Companies that held talks with ZCCM-IH in a bid to forge future relationships regarding investments in the power sector in Zambia.
The Summit was opened by President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. In his speech, Mr Kenyatta underlined that Africa has benefited a great deal from Japan’s grants, loans and technical co-operation in several sectors such as education, infrastructure and agriculture, across the continent.
He also pointed out that current Japanese Official Development Assistance in Africa which currently stands at US$ 32 billion, is a substantial contribution to the continent’s development.
The President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, cited that Africa no longer required so much of ‘aid’ but was now ripe for investment.
During the summit, the ZDA signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Mizuho Financial Group (MHFG) of Japan and Kenya Investment (KenInvest) of Kenya with the aim of promoting investment co-operation and identifying suitable investment opportunities, and enhance trade opportunities and information exchange, respectively.
ZCCM-IH’s Dr. Kasolo was privileged to witness the signing ceremonies alongside The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Mrs Kayula Siame.
Further, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) which owns 60.28% shares of ZCCM-IH also signed a memorandum of understanding with Marubeni Corporation of Japan.
The MOU is aimed at the rehabilitation of Mulungushi Textiles Limited in Kabwe, which was recently commissioned by Zambia’s President, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
It is the first time that the 6th TICAD summit is held on the African continent. It attracted just over 35 Heads of State, mostly from Africa, along with the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Shinzo Abe. Over 90 Japanese companies were in attendance.
Other African countries present included South Africa, Djibouti, Guinea, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Mozambique and Togo amongst others.
The TICAD Summit offers a platform for African and Japanese business leaders to interact and share business ideas on the premise that the private sector and its collective entrepreneurial mind-set will be key to delivering economic transformation on the African continent.
The goal of such an event is to promote the formation of co-operative partnerships between Japanese and African businesses, with both parties seeking to drive industrialization and diversification on the African continent.