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Commissioner Síkela announces over €200 million in Team Europe investments to boost Zambia’s industrial development and local value chains

12.11.2025 Press and information team of the Delegation to ZAMBIA

Press Release

Lusaka, Zambia – 12 November 2025 - At the EU–Zambia Lobito Corridor Business Forum, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela announced more than €200 million in Team Europe investments to support Zambia’s industrial growth, skills, and sustainable development under the Global Gateway strategy.

The Forum, co-opened by President Hakainde Hichilema and Commissioner Síkela, gathered more than 700 participants from Europe, Zambia, and neighbouring countries - including government representatives, development partners, private investors, and financial institutions. The discussions focused on transforming the Lobito Corridor into a corridor of opportunity connecting Africa’s copperbelt to global markets and regional value chains.

Commissioner Síkela stated: “During my mission to Zambia, I have seen the enormous potential this country and its people have. The Lobito Corridor can help unlock it. For Europe, it is not just an infrastructure project - it is a corridor of opportunities. It can fuel development, create jobs, and build local value chains. With Global Gateway, we work with Zambia to turn this potential into projects that benefit both our communities.”

Investing in Zambia’s Future: Jobs, Skills, and Local Value

The new investments, worth more than €200 million, support key economic sectors - transport, energy, agriculture, education, and critical raw materials - while deepening cooperation under the EU–Zambia Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Raw Materials Value Chains.

The package demonstrates the Global Gateway approach: investments that connect infrastructure with people — jobs, training, and sustainable industries.

  • €50 million Railway Sector Support Programme – to rehabilitate and modernise Zambia Railways infrastructure, improve efficiency, and prepare the system for integration into the Lobito Corridor and other regional routes.

  • €20 million Nexus Energy–Water (NEWZA 2.0) Programme – improving water management and renewable energy use in North-Western Zambia, complemented by €80 million in additional financing from Germany and the European Investment Bank.

  • €40 million Budget Support for Education Reforms – to modernise Zambia’s education system and expand access to skills and vocational training.

  • €36 million ENTERPRISE Zambia 2.0 – supporting smallholder farmers with sustainable agriculture, market access, and job creation (co-financed with €8 million from Germany).

  • €9.8 million Artisanal Mining Programme – providing training and formalisation for artisanal miners, promoting safer practices and sustainable employment.

  • €1.6 million GREENTech4CE – grants for green, circular, and digital SMEs, strengthening Zambia’s private sector.

  • €30 million EIB–ZICB Financing Agreement – to boost lending for agri-businesses and women-led SMEs in climate-resilient value chains

  • In addition, the Ilute Solar Project received €3.5 million under ElectriFi, marking one of the first private solar investments under Zambia’s new open-access energy framework.

    For more information on what was signed, click: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/zambia/eu%E2%80%93zambia-lobito-corridor-business-forum-high-level-signatures-ceremony-12-november-2025-ciela_en

Background

EU support to Zambia: The EU and Zambia mark 50 years of partnership in 2025. The investment package reaffirms the long-standing partnership that has delivered tangible benefits for the people of Zambia. 

In recent years Zambia and the EU signed strategic partnerships with Zambia to enhance cooperation with Zambia in the fields of Critical Raw Materials, the development of the Lobito Corridor, improving connectivity between Zambia, Angola, and the DRC and the Forest Partnership to combat deforestation and support sustainable management of resources and decent jobs. 

Lobito Corridor

The Lobito Corridor is an initiative by the Governments of Zambia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to develop modern transport corridor linking the Copperbelt region to the Atlantic port of Lobito and the global trade routes. It is expected to improve trade efficiency, lower transport costs, and create conditions for investment and industrial growth. The EU supports the Lobito Corridor through the Global Gateway strategy projects.  

Global Gateway

Global Gateway is the EU's positive offer to reduce the worldwide investment disparity and boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems. The Global Gateway strategy embodies a Team Europe approach that brings together the European Union, EU Member States, and European development finance institutions. Together, we aim to mobilise up to €300 billion in public and private investments from 2021 to 2027, creating essential links rather than dependencies, and closing the global investment gap.

Contact for more information:

Mweemba Nchimunya, Press & Information Officer, EU Delegation to Zambia & COMESA,  Nchimunya.MWEEMBA@eeas.europa.eu, +260 970007092