A significant step towards deeper commercial cooperation in the Zambian mining sector
30 June 2021
The latest SDG Booster was organized in April-June 2021 with Zambia as the target country and mining as the focus sector. Organizers included Finnpartnership, Mining Finland, Business Finland, Education Finland, the Embassy of Finland in Lusaka, and the AGS programme (Accelerated Growth for SMEs in Zambia). AGS executed an extensive market study on the needs and challenges in the Zambian mining sector, forming an essential part of the preparations and background work ensuring a successful series of events.
The first event of the SDG Booster was organized during the Finnish Week of Business, end of April. The second event took place in mid-May and the entire process culminated in the final session in early June. Over 20 Finnish organizations, primarily private businesses but also e.g. NGOs, participated in the 3rd event. All in all, there were just under 60 participants in the final session.
Equally important, there were dozens of relevant local organizations participating in the SDG Booster. Both local and Finnish participants showed great activity from the very beginning of the process. Multiple one-on-one as well as multi-stakeholder discussions were initiated already during the 3-event series, allowing more detailed discussions in terms of mutual interests and collaboration potential.
1. HSEQ, 2. Skills development and training, and 3. Mining, processing and exploration were selected as Innovation tents for the final event. Digitalization formed a cross-cutting theme. Mr. Anthony Kabaghe, Managing Director of Kitwe & District Chamber of Commerce, one of the oldest and strongest Chambers in Zambia and located in the Copperbelt Province, gave an insightful keynote speech at the outset of the final session.
Discussions in the Innovation tents resulted in several potential project ideas between local- and Finnish organizations. Together with the other organizers, Finnpartnership has since then actively supported the initiation of potential projects and consortia.
The organizers want to thank all participants for their active contribution during the workshops and for the positive feedback regarding the digital realization of the workshops!