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Companies, Tech

Liquid Telecom South Africa, a unit of the leading pan-African telecoms group, Liquid Telecom, has secured its first major customer MTN, to offer 4G roaming to millions of South Africans.

This includes LTE services to fuel the growing demand for high speed mobile broadband. The wholesale roaming service will be made available across Liquid Telecom’s network nationwide.

In an emailed press statement made available for the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Reshaad Sha, CEO of Liquid Telecom South Africa stated that “with MTN as a customer we have an opportunity to utilise our existing spectrum assets, so more people than ever will have access to fast and reliable mobile internet – and across Liquid Telecom’s network nationwide for the first time”.

Sha further stated that “this builds on our vision to give everyone the right to be connected by bringing high-speed broadband connectivity to all. The benefits are massive, particularly for organisations keen to fully embrace ‘digital transformation’ to improve productivity, customer service and performance.”

MTN South Africa CEO, Godfrey Motsa said “this sort of infrastructure sharing deal is good for the industry, as it reduces the need for excessively high capital investment and it is also good for customers, that immediately benefit from even greater access to fast and reliable mobile data”.

Motsa further stated that “MTNs focus is offering the very best experience to our millions of customers and by roaming on Liquid Telecom, we are deepening our commitment to continue to be the Best Network in South Africa, through our consistent and reliable network performance.”

This is one more step towards Liquid Telecom ‘Building Africa’s Digital Future” following December’s announcement to offer wholesale 4G roaming services in South Africa.

Liquid Telecom has been investing heavily across the continent where it operates Africa’s largest independent fibre network that is almost 70,000km in length and linked to more than 660 towns and cities in 13 countries. This includes the recent completion of Liquid Telecom’s award winning ‘Cape to Cairo’ network which represents the first direct land-based terrestrial fibre link from Cape Town to Cairo.

Liquid Telecom which has an operation in Zambia is a leading communications solutions provider across 13 countries primarily in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa that serves mobile operators, carriers, enterprise, media and content companies and retail customers with high-speed, reliable connectivity, hosting and co-location and digital services.

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Companies

Zambia Airports Corporation Limited – ZACL whose mandate is to develop, maintain and manage the four international airports, namely Kenneth Kaunda in Lusaka, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe in Ndola, Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula in Livingstone and Mfuwe and three Strategic and seven provincial aerodromes has continued to score notable progress with the launch of Air Tanzania flights into Zambia.

The results may have been long coming following the Zambian government investments of over $1.7 billion in airport infrastructure such as Livingstone’s ultra modern Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport – HMNIA, the under construction Lusaka’s Kenneth Kaunda International Airport -KKIA, the recently Flagged off construction of Copperbelt’s Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport – SMKIA. Some provincial airports are also under various stages of infrastructure uplift.

According to a statement made available to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, acting Minister of Transport and Communications Mutotwe Kafwaya who is Minster of Works and Supply, on Friday when he officiated at the launch of Air Tanzania’s inaugural flight into Zambia that took place at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport said that tourism to Zambia is very important and the coming into the space by Air Tanzania was most welcome.

“Zambia boasts of one of the Seven (7) Wonders of the World which is the Victoria Falls and anyone wanting to view it must visit Zambia and the Republic of Tanzania is not just a good neighbour to Zambia but a key strategic partner in promoting both economic and social development, a relationship that can be exemplified by some of the assets co-owned by the two countries such as TAZARA, and the pipeline”, Kafwaya said.

The Minister added that the direct route that was being launched are going to make sure that the travelling public get the maximum benefits of an enabled environment. He further noted that the launch of the airline was going to make people’s lives in both countries much better.
“Zambia’s aviation connectivity improves by way of many carriers choosing to fly into “Destination Lusaka”, the aviation sector is poised for significant growth and this would also answer to the new transport policy pronouncement of transforming the country into an inter-model transport and logistics hub for the Southern African Region”, he said.

Kafwaya re-iterated that during the 2018 period, the aviation industry recorded a positive growth of 11% in general passenger movements and international passenger numbers grew by 8%. The domestic market grew even more by 23% indicating a shift in the traveling pattern as people are now choosing to travel by air than by road as it has been traditionally in the past.

He said that in order to support the aviation sector and to ensure sustainable growth of the industry, the Ministry of Transport and Communication approved incentives for the new airlines to ensure the attraction of more airlines in to the country. He said that the move is the promotion of the people and the services to be rendered were for the benefit of the people and better their lives.

And his Tanzanian counterpart, Minister of Works, Transport and Communication Isaac Kamwele said that the launch of the flight into Zambia brings a solution of flying quickly and affordable between the two countries and that it would smoothen and accelerate business activities. “The direct flights would promote tourism, agriculture culture and other business activities as it would also support the strategies of the income increase and contribute towards economic growth of both countries. And Air Tanzania is here to stay in serving Zambians and this would be its home”, said Kamwele.

ZACL has a unique chance to go for and grab the coveted position of being a transport hub for the Central and Southern African region. With Zambia having the geographically central position, warm and welcoming people, the security concerns in Kenya and the relative slow down of the South African economy coupled with reported troubles with the state owned South African Airways – SAA, ZACL is well positioned to take an aim and become the regional air transport hub.

There is need for a clear competitive scan and setting of strategies objectives that could bring the major airlines into Zambia. When the talk of diversification is discussed, the focus is usually on Agriculture, but the transport sector which has relatively higher margins and can support a high end value chain for food, tourism and engineering services can be harnessed to become a main economic earner for the country.

 

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Agribusiness

Zambeef Ltd has exceeded its Novatek feed production capacity target by 14% in 2018 leading to a production capacity of 44.4% compared to 30% projected target. Zambeef Deputy Managing Director Walter Roodt says its new US$10 million Novatek plant in Mpongwe District which opened in 2017 is already operating at 44% production capacity bringing the total monthly production capacity to 25,000 metric tonnes of feedstock.

“Our target at the time of opening was to achieve 30% capacity but that has been exceeded as we are currently at 44.4% capacity. We produced 200,846 tons of feed in 2018 compared to 155,795 tons in 2017. There is still much room for growth and we aim to maximize production at the plant over time,” the director said.

Roodt has also reported that the company is seeing immense growth in the demand for feed for the livestock sector particularly in poultry which is considered to be the more affordable source of meat-based protein in comparison to others such as beef, pork and goat. The proximity of Novatek’s Mpongwe plant to markets on the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo will not only increase efficiencies of service in those markets but also led to reduction in distribution costs that farmers stand to benefit from.

Opportunities in the form of outlets in border towns such as Nakonde and Kasumbalesa have allowed Novatek to tap into the region’s neighboring countries growing markets thus providing both local farmers and those from surrounding areas to access feed tailored to their livestock.

Increased capacity at Novatek also entails increased demand for inputs for one of the country’s largest buyers of soybeans and maize. In 2018 alone, 164,724 tons of material was procured from small and medium scale farmers in the stockfeed operations.Nearly 25% of Novatek’s production is consumed by its internal livestock divisions within the Zambeef Products Group with the remainder channeled to the external market both within and outside Zambia.

As livestock production regains popularity in farming communities across Zambia, affordability and access to stock feed becomes increasingly important. This also leads to other linkages such as growth of demand for Maize and Soyabeans which local small and medium scale farmers can benefit from.

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Companies, Tech

Liquid Telecom Zambia, a leading communications solutions provider last week donated electrosurgical unit accessories for equipment critical in the treatment of cancer to Zambia’s largest hospital, the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).

The URO ONCOLOGY equipment will be used to treat all types of Cancer cells (especially prostate cancer). The donation of the advanced Equipment will enable UTH to provide practical training to medical students for specialised cancer treatment.

“It is indeed a great honour to make this contribution to the University Teaching Hospital. A University Teaching Hospital is a vanguard in the medical community due to its nature of developing new and better ways to care for patients through outcomes-based research and the utilisation of new technologies,” said Liquid Telecom Zambia Managing Director, Susan Mulikita.

The equipment will enable UTH to conduct cancer treatment operations with minimal blood loss. The new equipment will help UTH to be more efficient and treat more cancer patients as it reduces the surgery period from six hours to three hours. With this equipment, patients in Zambia will no longer have to travel outside the country for this high-end medical procedure but obtain the services locally.

Although the number of people who are getting screened for cancer has increased over the last number of years, this new development also comes with its own challenges. Treatment centers are disadvantaged when it comes to accurately diagnosing patients and proceeding to treat them with the appropriate technology.

The donation of the advanced Equipment will enable UTH to provide practical training to medical students for specialised cancer treatment. Liquid Telecom Zambia’s commitment is to support the education sector as it ties in directly with the overall ambition of “Building Africa’s Digital Future”.

The handover of the electrosurgical unit accessories is a demonstration of this commitment by Liquid Telecom to improve the quality of education in all areas of learning and offering technological support where necessary.

“I am happy to announce that this is only the beginning of our collaboration with the University Teaching Hospital,” the Liquid Telecom Zambia Managing Director revealed.

Liquid Telecom Zambia continues to work relentlessly to build a network like no other in Zambia; one that delivers benefits to all customers, from the largest corporate to the one man with his phone on the street.

The company provides leading cloud-based services, such as Microsoft Office365, Microsoft Azure and innovative digital content provision including Netflix and Kwesé TV across its fibre footprint.

Photo below is the Liquid Telecom equipment presentation to the UTH

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Companies, Tech

Liquid Telecom has appointed Susan M’kandawire Mulikita as CEO of Liquid Telecom Zambia to accelerate growth and market penetration across the country.

Based in Zambia, Susan joined the company on 14 January 2019 and becomes the first female to join Liquid Telecom’s Southern Africa regional executive leadership team as CEO. Susan is also the first female CEO responsible for ICT in Zambia.

“This senior appointment marks an exciting new step in Liquid Telecom’s strategy to build Africa’s digital future,” said Wellington Makamure, CEO of Liquid Telecom’s Southern Africa Region.

“Susan’s exceptional talent and experience willbring greater synergy to the Southern Africa region, and enable more customers to capitalise on Liquid Telecom’s connectivity, hosting, co-location and digital solutions portfolio – driving innovation and growth across the region.

Susan’s appointment is particularly significant as it demonstrates Liquid Telecom’s continued focus on diversity and inclusiveness, especially at a regional level.” Susan has more than 20 years’ ICT experience, operating at a senior level for both private sector and public organisations.

This includes Airtel where she was responsible for telecommunications and ICT law, policy, regulation and stakeholder management. Susan is a graduate of the University of Zambia having attained a Bachelor of Laws Degree there and a Master of Laws (ICT) from the Buckinghamshire New University (UK). Susan is also a qualified practitioner of Telecoms/ICT Policy, Law, Regulation and Management.

“This is an exciting time to be joining Liquid Telecom Zambia,” she said. “The company offers a superior service at both carrier and retail level and is poised to compete successfully in the Zambian ICT and telecoms landscape. I look forward to working collaboratively with our partners, government and other stakeholders to deliver innovative and compelling ICT and telecoms services. I am also very pleased to join a brand that promotes equal opportunities and inclusive leadership at the highest levels of the organisation.”

 

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Highlights, Markets

Stanbic Bank, a member of the Standard Bank group of South Africa recorded the best results on both net interest income and other income level as well as being the largest lender in Zambia.

The bank recorded full year 2018 earnings of K1.34 billion, beating its nearest rival, Zanaco who came second with K1.30 billion in earnings (see table on top 10 results). Barclays, now part of the South African ABSA group was in third position while British owned bank, Stanchart was in fourth position.

Bayport is the new kid on the block
A notable new kid on the block, which is actually still a non-Bank financial institution but included due to its stellar performance is Zambian owned Bayport Financial Services completing the top 5 in terms of revenue at net interest and other revenue earnings level.

Stanbic ruled the banking industry in 2018, was also largest Lender

In terms of the main essence of banking and financial services, loans and advanced shows the impact that a financial institution had to the business community. Extending loans and advances ranks highly and this is the measure adopted to rank the balance sheet.

Stanbic took a double as it was also the largest lender in 2018
As per table below, Stanbic again was the largest lender with a total 2018 year end loans and advanced balance of K5.2 billion, in second place was Barclays, third was Zanaco, fourth was Stanchart while the new kid on the block, Bayport was fifth.

The ranking on revenue is mostly directly correlated to the balance sheet loans and advances as financial institution earning are mostly derived from their lending activities. There is also a widely held notion that clients take their deposits to banks were they are most likely to get bank facilities or loans.

Top 10 banks by income for year ended Dec 2018
Stanbic bank – K1.34 billion
Zanaco – K1.30 billion
Barclays – K1.18 billion
Stanchart – K1.06 billion
Bayport – K770 million
FNB – K714 million
Atlas Mara – K573 million
Citi bank – K339 million
Bank of China – K310 million
Eco Bank – K281 million

Top 10 Banks by Loans and Advances
Stanbic Bank – K5.20 billion
Barclays Bank – K4.20 billion
Zanaco – K4.04 billion
Stanchart – K2.78 billion
Bayport – K2.59 billion
FNB – K2.19 billion
Atlas Mara – K1.83 billion
Cavmont – K670 million
Citi bank – K627 million
Bank of China – K622 million

Note. Indo Zambia and Access bank results not included as we had not received them by press time.

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Mining

Kagem Mining Ltd, a subsidiary of Gemfields group has announced a return of its auctions to Lusaka, Zambia. This was after the company had applied to exceptionally hold its previous auctions outside Zambia after a general slump in global emerald prices, mostly affected by the Indian Market.

Kagem stated in a media statement to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that it would hold its auction from 18 to 20 February in Lusaka and has called on prospective Jewellers and businesses wishing to take part in the auction to apply for accreditation.

The company has stated that it will only be auctioning rough, uncut gemstones and will not include any finished or polished gemstones. Local auctions have been hailed as a model to uphold as it puts the country on the world map and enables business tourism among other economic benefits.

The Gemfields group controls mining assets and marketing of two key countries in Africa. In Zambia, the group through Kagem controls the mining and marketing of emeralds and amethysts and in Mozambique, it controls for ruby’s and pink sapphire.

The Kagem emerald mine is the world’s single largest producer of emeralds and accounts for approximately 25% of global emerald production. It covers an area of approximately 41 square kilometres and is located in the central part of the Ndola Rural Emerald Area of Zambia mining and industrial hub, the Copperbelt.

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Lifestyle

For most youths in Zambia coming out of Secondary Schools, College and University, looking for formal employment or white collar jobs is the only answer to their becoming economically active. Many blame the colonial education system that still remains and is skewed to producing workers and not entrepreneurs.

We however as the Zambian Business Times – ZBT seek out the examples of some of our local Zambians who have taken up the mantle of not waiting to be employed and blame it on others when jobs are not avsilable. We look for people that have defied the notion of employee mentality and gone ahead to strive, follow their passions and set up companies and in the end creating employment and opportunities for others. Tapson Sibande meets the new school of Zambians taking up the mantle to set up companies and create wealth.

The beginning
Tapson Sibande is an entrepreneur and Electronic engineer by profession. Tapson is one of the main shareholders of Mfumu HD graphics and is currently managing the company. The 29 year old Zambian grow up in Mazabuka town “ the big farm” as he calls it , he did his primary education at Kaonga Basic school, secondary at Hillcrest Technical High School and then went to pursue his Degree in Electronic Engineering at the Copperbelt University.

In an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT news analyst, Tapson narrates that it was in his first year at the Copperbelt University that he and his partner and friend Ephraim Simataa decided to go and register Mfumu HD as a company as they began to work slowly with the passion to see the company get to where it is today.

Collaboration and teamwork is key
“We pushed and worked on the company in the background for 5 years and in the 6thyear we began to work on its growth as we decided to partner with two other people namely Austin Mwakwa who owns 10% and Brian Kabwe the owner and founder of Big Deal Graphics who also has a 10% stake. Brian also happens to be my mentor from day one. So in terms of shareholding, this leaves me and Ephraim with 40% shares each. So Mfumu is proudly owned by 4 people”, said Tapson.

The young entrepreneur says that he believes he was called to do this has he says media chose him because even with the passion he never imagined himself working full time in the media industry which is far away from what he went to study at the university. The issue of financing for acquiring better and more sophisticated Equipments seemed to be a very big challenge in the industry.

Seed capital from angel investors – parents
We started with only one camera and one computer bought using about K1,700 and K1,900 given to us as seed capital by our parents, Tapson and Ephraim worked and just in order for them to grow their skills they would work tirelessly even without getting paid, but this has now started to pay off.

Today, the minimum amount made in a day of events/ weekend to say is on average about K3,000 and we have built up our assets to as close to a million kwacha worth of equipments alone.

Creating wealth and employment for the community
“Today I can proudly say Mfumu has grown as it currently has four permanent workers and about twenty part-time workers. With only one computer and one camera in the beginning, we have strived over the past years and gotten ourselves high quality equipment which enable us to work from all around and be able to shoot as much as 7 events in a day”.

Mfumu HD has worked with a number of celebrities like Slab Dee, Macky2, done collaborations and commercials for companies like DSTV, GOTV, ZICTA, CBU and many others. We carter for both corporate, SME and individual/ family events.

Future plans to make a mark on the international map
The future plans for Mfumu is to see it that we make a mark on the international map for we do not just consider it to be a Zambian company. Long term plan is to cover the whole southern Africa and with us working with collaborations has really helped grow to this level.

Tapson further advised fellow young youths not to be afraid to take risks but to go out there and pursue their passion and make their dreams come to life as he said one has to be daring in life and not take no for an answer for the things needed.

Zambian business environment is very challenging for local entrepreneurs, you need a thick skin
“The Zambian environment is not very conducive for one to venture into entrepreneurship and does not favor local entrepreneurs but one must learn to take risks and I believe there is a formula and once you calculate you can jump without any fear. One needs and must be daring and not take NO for an answer, work as a “Tamaga” as I call it just to see to it that it happen, perfect your craft, invest in yourself, teamwork and collaborate”, said Tapson.

Advice to young people – be ready to be a “Tamanga”
The young see CEO who used to call himself “Tamanga” now calls himself “Young CEO 101” saying he has grown and developed himself from the running around trying to hustle and make his dreams come true to now being the young owner and founder of Mfumu who ensures his work is done more that 100% perfect.

Photo below is a sample of the works done by Mfumu HD with Zambian celebrities

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Lifestyle

The Zambia Medicine Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) says is has noted with great concern that some sections of society have continued abuse of Codeine a Psychotropic substance known as Ichinyelele which is contained in off the shelf benylin.

ZAMRA Public Relations Office Ludovic Mwape said the authority is mandated to ensure drugs put on the Zambian market consistently meet the required standards and it is contemplating changes to the expert committee proscription drug list to restructure the mode of sale for this pharmaceutical product for people to start producing prescriptions before procuring the drug.

“As it is, it’s an off the shelf pharmacy product and anyone can get it from a drug store without producing a prescription. We also want to appeal to professionals stationed in these pharmacies to be able to inquire if they persistently see somebody in repeated purchases, then they should be calls for concern”.

“No one can be taking this product unless there is something troubling them and you can not continue taking this drug because it is very addictive, if you have a cough and taking Benylin Codeine and no improvement, you need get the advise from a licensed medical practitioner so that you change the medical product,” he explained.

Mwape told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT in an interview Wednesday morning that it calls for professionalism and sensitization in terms of the way the drug is being dispensed to people that are abusing the substance and it has a negative impact on the economy, as once one get addicted to intoxication, it leads to low productivity.

“As an institution that is mandated to do that, we are considering putting up restrictions in terms of who is importing this medicine in the country and on how this product is being dispensed, obviously we are going to tighten controls around this product to deal with the public concerns”.

We have already started this as when we visit a pharmacy, we want to know were the product is coming from and we look for receipts and relevant documentations of were this drugs are coming from and where they are sold and to whom,” he noted.

He acknowledged that there are other informal ways this drug is been imported by people who are not registered and are selling it. “Members of the public should be reporting these cases either to police or ZAMRA in order curb the practice”.

When Importing any drug in Zambia, you have to get a permit from ZAMRA and there is a robust screening process at the port of entry. But of course the problem is also that there are certain boarder areas which are porous, you find our presence is not there and this product comes in,” Mwape lamented.

He narrated that last year, ZAMRA closed down a number of facilities and owners were sensitised on a one on one basis on the need for them to comply those that were selling illegally.

Zambia has a huge youth population that needs tangible solutions to ensure engagement and employment is provided to drive productivity.

Failure to come up with proper interventions at both government and community level will compromise the future viability of the Zambian economy. It remains to be seen if Zambia will leverage the demographic dividend from its youthful population.

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Lifestyle, Tech

The high youth unemployment levels in the country has manifested and left thousands of youths desperate for white collar jobs and hunting from street to street in order to get jobs and start the journey of being economically active.

The education system reforms that have been talked about were life skills and entrepreneurship are supposed to be a big part of the curriculum are are yet to start producing graduates that are capable of venturing to create jobs rather than look for employment opportunities.

Moreover, the country is also lagging behind in implementing local content policies accross various industries that would ensure that opportunities for locals are safeguarded.

Even the government which perhaps has the largest procurement budget at the Zambia public procurement authority – ZPPA is yet to fully embed the preferential purchasing from local and citizen owned or influenced companies which should ideally be the source of jobs and local entrepreneurship.

This has also led to private companies that included the large copper mines on the Copperbelt also having procurement policies that are skewed towards engagement of foreign suppliers at the expense of locals.

The above has left a scenario we’re local entrepreneurship and venturing into private business a risky venture. Graduates from various colleges therefore look at the above risks and this results in white collar jobs and being formally employed as the most viable option.

A check by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT this morning found thousands of youth flocking to the Mulungushi International Conference Center to participate in writing the aptitudes tests being conducted by Zamtel for internship opportunities.

The mobile network provider had two weeks ago announced that it seeks to engage college and University graduates for internship opportunities meant to help students that graduated between 2016 and 2018 get an opportunity to gain work experience.

Zamtel announced that it will conduct interviews in different locations within the country that includes Lusaka, Chipata, kabwe, Mpika, Kasama, Mansa, Ndola Kitwe, Solwezi, Choma, Livingstone and Mongu which saw the interview kick off in Lusaka.

The kick off saw thousands of youths in Lusaka queuing up awaiting to be given an opportunity to write the aptitude tests which will determine those that will qualify for this opportunity. The number required was not specified.

However, a female participant whose identity has been withheld said it is saddening to see observe the low rate at which government is enabling the creation of employment opportunities. She said it is sad to realize to see the number of unemployed youths who have come to seek an internship opportunity with the network provide.

She sighted that the instance were only 2,009 qualified teachers who have been selected for the teachers recruitment exercise this year out of over 27 000 applicants is a clear indication that the country is going through an unemployment crisis that needs immediate interventions.

Zambia’s population has continued to grow with the year end 2019 total population estimated at about 17 million citizens. According to the results released for grade 12 school leavers in the year 2017, the country had over 125,000 students completing school and thereby needing employment opportunities within the next two to five years.

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