By Cecilia Chiluba/Zambia/Lusaka
A new report by the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that Zambia could unlock more than US$1.6 billion in new economic opportunities and generate up to 115,000 jobs by expanding beyond upstream copper extraction into higher-value activities.
The report was developed under UNCTAD’s project, Critical Energy Transition Minerals: Rapid Assessment of Value Addition and Diversification Capacity in Southern Africa, funded by the Government of Japan.
It outlines implementation priorities and policy options to support Zambia’s industrialization and economic diversification strategy.
Amid rising global demand for critical energy transition minerals, the report finds that Zambia has substantial potential to link mining to processing, manufacturing and industrial services — strengthening domestic value addition and productive employment.
The assessment identifies over 400 feasible products across 25 sectors where Zambia can diversify based on its existing productive capabilities.
According to the report, 73 products are directly linked to critical energy transition mineral value chains, particularly in iron and steel, machinery, electrical equipment and chemicals.
Under a global export scenario, 226 products represent approximately US$1.4 billion in potential export opportunities.
“Import substitution could unlock an additional US$229 million, reflecting goods currently imported but within Zambia’s competitive reach,” the report read in part.
The report indicates that the validated subset of these opportunities could generate up to 115,000 jobs, with strong employment potential in iron and steel, plastics, chemicals, paper and electrical equipment — sectors that support both skills development and industrial upgrading.
The analysis is grounded in economic complexity methods that map Zambia’s current capabilities to identify realistic next-step diversification pathways.
The report will be officially launched on 17th February 2026. The event will include a presentation of the key findings, followed by a high-level dialogue with national stakeholders, moderated by UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan, focusing on priority product selection, implementation coordination and scaling through regional markets.
