48
Innovators
Chamber of Commerce; committee member
of the Business Regulation Authority Agency;
board member at Consumer and Unit Trusts
(CUTs Zambia). In the past she has participa-
ted on various committees under the Ministry
of Commerce Trade and Industry (MCTI), led
the private sector participation in the 2011
AGOA conference held in Zambia which was
organized and chaired by ZAM, and served on
committees at the Zambia Revenue Authority.
The Worl
dw
ide Economy
is currentl
y
facing
some chal
l
eng
es.
How
ev
er,
economists seem
to be think
ing
that Africa is becoming
the next
destination for foreig
n inv
estment.
What
s y
our
opinion on that and how
do y
ou see Zambia
w
ithin this context?
Zambia is actually well placed and it has many
interesting opportunities, but with so much of it
untapped. In terms of natural resources, Zambia
has about 40% of the waters in the SADC region
(Southern African Development Community), and
a small population against its vast land, most of
which is arable. We have copper and other mine-
rals and tourism is also another focus area, which
has potential to grow beyond what we currently
have, since I do not think we have done everything
that can be done in terms of tourism in this coun-
try. When it comes to manufacturing, the industry
has grown: it was contributing lately to about 26%
to the national GDP and we are now backing to
about 10 or 9%. It simply means we have quite a
lot of potential to grow obviously if the environment
is supporting and the regulations and legislations
are as well.
Now
that y
ou hav
e mentioned the manufactu-
ring
industry
in the country
,
w
hat w
oul
d y
ou
say
are the chal
l
eng
es and opportunities?
Prior to the country changing to multi-party in 1991,
there was initially an import substitution. However,
after the liberalization of the economy, public com-
panies were privatized and collapsed. Out of most
of the companies that were privatized, we only
boast of companies like Zamefa that are still ope-
rative.
Roseta Mwape-Chabala was appointed Mana-
ging Director of Metal Fabricators of Zambia in
2013. She was previously the CEO of Zambia
Association of Manufacturers (ZAM). Mrs.
Mwape-Chabala has a MSc. in international
trade policy and trade law with experience
in policy analysis, trade policy formulation,
strategic planning, business & new markets
development, product differentiation & brand
management, key operational management
and managing the leading business member-
ship association in Zambia with a focus on
lobbying and advocacy, capacity building and
business linkages both local and regional for
the manufacturing industry.
Mrs. Mwape-Chabala played a leading role in
significantly improving the ZAM’s image and
multiplying membership and revenues of ZAM
through strategic planning & execution, effec-
tive market segmentation, through branding,
advertising, and re-engineered distribution stra-
tegy. In 2013 she was awarded for distinguis-
hed contribution to private sector development.
Zamefa, a world class company headquartered
in Luanshya, Zambia, is a global leader in the
development, design, manufacture, marketing
and distribution of copper, aluminum and cable
products for the energy and electrical infras-
tructure. With annual revenues approaching
$
200 million, Zamefa is the largest wire and
cable manufacturing company in Zambia and
one of the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mrs. Mwape-Chabala has served on various
boards and committees both at national and
regional level. She is the current president of
Zambia Association of Manufacturers; vice
chairperson of National Council for Construc-
tion Board; board member of the American
ROSETTA MWAPA
Chief Executive Officer
Metal
Fabricators of Zambia (
Zamefa)
