Mwamba Appoints ZEBF Board
Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Emmanuel Mwamba has appointed a new board of the Zambia-Ethiopia Business Forum drawn from various sectors of the two countries.
Ambassador Mwamba, who is also Permanent Representative to the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa, has praised the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI), who helped propose distinguished names drawn from Zambia.
He said the Zambia-Ethiopia Business Forum should ensure that business, trade and investments between Zambia and Ethiopia were significantly enhanced.
Ambassador Mwamba said the new members should exploit the business and trade opportunities that exist between the two countries.
Members of the new Board include Ambassador Mwamba, Sisay Tesfayem, the Founder and Group Chairman of Sisay Investment Group of Ethiopia, as Interim Chairman of the Board, Chingola Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Fred Musonda, Kabwe Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Christabel Ngongola-Reinke, Emmanuel Munsanje, the president of the Luapula Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ndola Chamber of Commerce and Industry president John Samaras, North-Western Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Mukumbi Kafuta, Pastor Zerubbabel Mengistu, the Senior Pastor and Co-Founder of BEZA International Church of Ethiopia, and Joseph Chinyemba, First Secretary for Economy and Trade at the Zambian mission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Others include two members of the Ethiopian private sector, recommended by the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations and representative of the Association of Zambians living in Ethiopia.
Ambassador Mwamba reiterated that the establishment of the Zambia-Ethiopia Business Forum was an initiative which would aggressively scale-up levels of trade and investments between Zambia and Ethiopia, both of which are members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
He noted that despite significant potential, levels of bilateral trade and investments between the two countries has remained low as the investment and trade opportunities existing in both countries remain unexploited by the private sector of both countries.
Ambassador Mwamba further noted that the Business Forum would create a platform where the private sector of the two countries would be frequently engaged and mobilized to undertake business investment missions to both Zambia and Ethiopia, to explore investment opportunities existing in both countries.
He added that with the operational launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) arrangement, it was necessary that the African private sector began to engage each other more in order to enhance intra-African trade and investment.
Ambassador Mwamba called on business entities interested in trade between the two countries and wishes to join the Forum to get in touch with the Embassy.
The Zambia-Ethiopia Business Forum was established in May, 2019.
It is envisaged that there is significant potential for increased investments and trade between Zambia and Ethiopia especially in agro-processed products such as sugar and other manufactured goods like leather products, copper wire, copper cathodes/sheets, textile, among others