Lusaka, Zambia, 18 November 2025 (ECA) – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Sub-regional Office for Southern Africa (ECA-SROSA) visited the Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zone (LSMFEZ) on Tuesday, 18 November 2025, to study best practices in Special Economic Zone (SEZ) development that could inform SEZs initiatives underway across Southern Africa.
The ECA SRO-SA delegation, led by Mr. Oliver Maponga, Economic Affairs Officer, and accompanied by an official from the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA), assessed business regulations and incentives, economic linkages, zone competitiveness, and the potential of the industrial activities to contribute to national growth and development at Zambia's flagship Economic Zone.
The visit comes as ECA SRO-SA advances several transformative regional projects, including the transboundary Common Agro-industrial Park (CAIP) between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo-Zambia battery electric vehicle (BEV) Special Economic Zones.
"This visit provided firm grounding and important lessons for SEZ work currently underway across the continent and will help in streamlining the support going forward," stated Mr. Maponga. "The visit enhanced our appreciation of the operations and activities in these zones in terms of the operating companies, the value chains being pursued, and the attendant operational opportunities and challenges."
Mr. Masauso Mwenda, Head of Business Development and Commercial at LSMFEZ, presented the zone's achievements since its establishment in 2010 as the country's first state-owned economic zone. He shared that the Zone has created 12,500 jobs across various sectors, 143 companies have been approved to operate in the Zone of which 31 are already operational, 17 are under construction with the rest being at various stages of business development. Once all approved companies are operational, the level of employment will increase to 35,000. A total of USD 1.59 billion in investment has so far been attracted into the MFEZ.
The model of the Zone is mixed-use, integrating industrial, commercial, and residential activities in designated areas. The overarching idea is to create a self-contained City within a City with research and development, housing, institutional, and recreational facilities. The Zone has attracted both local and foreign firms promoting manufacturing, stimulating export activities, facilitating technological development, enabling skills transfer, and driving job and wealth creation.
"The Lusaka South MFEZ has successfully contributed to the diversification of the Zambian economy and created meaningful employment," Mr. Mwenda noted. "Investors, including local micro small and medium enterprises, are drawn by the attractive tax incentives, the well-developed road infrastructure, reliable power supply which includes a 600MW ZESCO substation and 80MW solar system, and Zambia's active participation in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area provides further impetus for the active participation of investors."
The MFEZ management team, including the Risk Manager, Business Development Officer, Marketing Officer, and Public Relations Officer, shared comprehensive insights into the management of the Zone and future development plans aimed at establishing a vibrant, innovative, and integrated industrial, commercial, and residential satellite city that will serve as an economic driver for Lusaka and Zambia.
The key lessons from the LSMFEZ experience that will inform the support to SEZ development in the region include; the importance of promoting mixed-use development that connects zones to communities and creates sustainable economic ecosystems and reduces operational costs for workers and businesses; the criticality of a reliable road network and power distribution as pull factors; the strategic focus on value chain development and processing capabilities to enhance economic impact and export potential; the importance of collaboration between domestic and foreign companies to facilitate knowledge and technology sharing; the need for a long-term view on the evolution of the SEZ and for leveraging regional collaboration to transform the Zones into regional and continental hubs.
ECA SRO-SA gained valuable insights into the operating environment in the SEZ and the role of the Zone in generating employment for Zambians and in facilitating technology transfer and promoting exports, insights to be leveraged for technical support strategies for SEZ development across Southern Africa.
Issued by:
The Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa
UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
P.O. Box 30647, Lusaka, Zambia.
Media Contacts:
Ms. Lavender Degre,
Communication Officer,
Tel: +260 211 228502/5 Ext. 21307
DL: +260 211 376607
Email: lavender.degre@un.org