US-Zambia Business by Kanzam

With James Muyanwa
FOR any product or service supplied in one area, there is always demand by potential customers somewhere - sometimes very far-off. The challenge is always how to make the supply party meet the demand side.
Take for instance a bee-keeper somewhere in Chief Mukonchi in Kapiri Mposhi district of Central Province of Zambia, with several litres of already harvested honey. How can he/she ensure that the honey reaches that consumer in the United States whom he/she may not even know exists?
It is precisely for that reason that this column has come up to, inter alias, give a lowdown of some of the interactions and linkages between the business community of Zambia on one side and that of the US on the other hand, every Wednesday. All this with a courtesy of Kanzam International Inc!
KANZAM INTERNATIONAL
Kanzam International chief executive officer, Ricky Muloweni says that the investments and trade opportunities in the two countries from the two different worlds are massive and need to be exploited not by the two respective governments but by the resptive private sectors.
Pregnant with the desire to link the business people from the two countries – Zambia and US – Mr Muloweni, a Zambian and his colleague ………………………(name please) from US forged a partnership and came up with Kanzam International whose name stands for Kansas, where the other partner comes from and Zambia.
During a telephone chat at the weekend, Mr Muloweni told me that since inception in 1998, his dream has been that the US business people should partner with the Zambians to fully make use of the investment potential in the two countries. This can only be possible if the local entreprenuers are also in position to embrace the spirit of industrialisation.
Zambia needs to fully industrialise.
Kanzam International has identified some sectors in which it is actually involved to bring the players from Zambia and those from the US together. The company which is broadly pro-agriculture, is involved in mining, manufacturing, education and promotion of art in schools.
Generally, it is a business facilitation and consulting services company for Zambian and US entrepreneurs wishing to do business in Zambia or the United States of America. Its facilitation services range from cultural education, import-export facilitation, business coaching for rural development projects and international business collaboration for Zambian and US companies.
Its main mission is to serve small and medium business clients and entrepreneurs that are in need of logistical, technical, and business entry strategy services in Zambia and the US. It is already working with various agencies such as Ministry on Commerce in Zambia to fully utilize opportunities.
Through its vast business and cultural experience in both the US and Zambia’s economic environment, Kanzam has set out to objectively provide Zambia’s entrepreneurs a medium through which challenges and inadequacies of doing business with American entrepreneurs will be moderated.
KANZAM AND AGOA
Luckily, the US government in 2000 put in place an Act through which Zambian and other African entreprenuers can export to that country and Kanzam, instead of trying to invent the will, works within the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to help forge connections between the business entities from the two countries.
As the result of Kanzam’s efforts under the AGOA arrangement, diners in several restaurants in Kansas will be able to savour Zambian soup (Zamsoup) which will be exported to that country by Sylva Catering Service while more other people in US will taste the Zambian honey.
Kanzam has managed to link Sylva Professional Catering Service and the Zambia Honey Council to the local business entities in US under the AGOA.
Through the deal, Sylva Professional Catering Services will be supplying 15 tonnes of Zambian vegetable soup like bondwe to the US every month.
Kanzam is also working with the Zambian women in mining for similar deals.
As a lead-up to the 10th AGOA forum which will be held here in Zambia in June this year, Kanzam wants to bring more Zambian entreprenuers on board to ensure they take advantage of the yawning opportunities in that country.
Equally, more US investors are yearning to come and invest in various sectors of this country which has matured into one of the most preferred investment destinations in the world.
Through this column more opportunities will be unveiled as it will also offer a platform to entreprenuers from US and Zambia to interact and forge links. One can only hope that more local players will follow it.
Next week I will look at the eligibility of Zambian products in the US and what could be done to enhance their acceptability into that wide market.
Kindly send your contribution to: jmuyanwa@gmail.com or call: 0210955-431442 or 0210977-246099
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