Zambia Update 2022: COVID, Russia, Climate Change, and Debt Restructuring

Our Director of Global Capital and Strategy at FCA Corp, Tom Koch, recently spoke with the Zambian Minister of Finance and Planning. I am happy to share the recording of the discussion to provide an update and some insights on important issues Zambia has been facing. Here is Tom’s synopsis and link to the discussion:

I recently had the opportunity to speak with the Hon. Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, the Zambian Minister of Finance and Planning during an event hosted by the Atlantic Council's Africa Center. Zambia defaulted on debt in Oct 2020, and the Minister was in Washington DC for the International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings to discuss way forward.

As a part of the Africa Center's series of discussions regarding these Spring Meetings, Ambassador Rama YADE, Senior Director of the Africa Center, led a wonderful and insightful discussion on:

- How the Russia – Ukraine War is impacting Zambia,
- How Zambia is dealing with the impacts of COVID,
- How the country is approaching energy independence and fairness, especially out of the UN Climate Conference.

I further asked questions about Zambia's debt restructuring plan and how the government was planning to make the economy more conducive to international investment. FCA Corp is the advisor to an Africa-focused private equity fund called Africap LLC, and one of the fund’s portfolio companies is a Zambian food processing company that faces significant challenges to growth because of burdensome regulatory and legal requirements.

The Minister's positive outlook and enthusiasm give hope that the country can overcome its current challenges and regain its growth trajectory. As Zambia proceeds down that path, the world watches and waits.

The link to full recording can be found here.

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