It is a centrally located country with eight neighbouring countries and close proximity to the large market of South Africa, a surface area of over 750,000 sq km, and an approximate population of over 11 million people. It also boasts of a suitable climate, peace and a multi-party competitive democratic political system. The country possesses all the necessary attributes for sustainable economic growth and development. Competitive production costs, incentives, and reforms have also enhanced the attractive investment climate for both local and foreign investors. Numerous investment opportunities exist amongst the agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and mining sectors across various regions of the country. Almost all provinces in Zambia remain potential areas of investment whose resources remain largely untapped. Its active participation in the SADC Trade protocol and the COMESA/FTA offers preferential tariff access to market potential of nearly 380 million people. The Zambian Development Agency (ZDA) Act ensures that property rights are fully respected with full compensation on market value made in case of expropriation. The country is also a signatory to the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank which guarantees foreign investment protection in cases of disasters and other disturbances. Bilateral investment treaties with a number of countries also encourage, promote and protect foreign investment. Foreign investors seeking joint venture partners can approach ZDA which registers investors together with project profiles of domestic investors seeking collaboration.
In the main urban centres, public telephones and independently operated cellular telephone networks are in place. Zambia also hosts ZamNet and other internet service providers. In order to continue diversifying our export base and further increase our export earnings, it is imperative that we intensify use of marketing strategies that take advantage of the fact that globalisation requires each country to develop more efficient modes of communication. Therefore, inadequate infrastructure, institutional capacity and investment in skilled human resources should continue to be aggressively addressed by targeting identified weak areas, and implement policies to tackle the weaknesses speedily so as to enhance economic growth and developments prospects. In addressing these issues, it is crucial to build strong partnerships, particularly with the private sector, for effective Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development in Zambia. The agriculture sector however, remains one of the key areas where advancements in ICTs have not yet been fully taken advantage of in order to benefit rural communities and the economy in general. In fact, communications infrastructure has been either lacking or inadequate in most rural areas of Zambia to give an opportunity to rural communities to access and distribute information at low cost, as well as facilitate interactive participation in the creation and use of agricultural information.