• Zambia inaugurated its first glucose and starch factory, a $110 million investment by Kingsworth Group Limited, a subsidiary of Trade Kings Group.
• The plant will process 126,000 tons of maize annually to produce glucose, starch, and animal feed by-products.
• The project aims to reduce Zambia’s $15 million annual imports of glucose and starch and strengthen local industrial capacity.

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on October 21 inaugurated the country’s first industrial glucose and starch production plant in the Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ). The $110 million facility was financed by Kingsworth Group Limited, part of the Zambian conglomerate Trade Kings Group.

The new factory marks a milestone for Zambia’s industrial sector, which has seen strong growth in food and beverage production. The facility will manufacture glucose and starch for use in the agro-processing and manufacturing industries, as well as animal feed by-products.

Although production capacity figures were not disclosed, company officials said the plant will process about 126,000 tons of maize each year.

Phil Daka, Trade Kings Group’s Executive Director for Corporate Affairs, said the plant will source maize from local farmers. “We are celebrating not only a factory, but an idea whose time has come,” Daka said. “This investment positions Zambia as the third producer of glucose and starch in Africa, after Egypt and South Africa.”

The project aims to strengthen local value chains and substitute imports to meet Zambia’s rising domestic demand for industrial ingredients. Between 2022 and 2024, Zambia imported an average of $11.7 million worth of glucose and $3 million of starch annually, according to Trade Map data.

This article was initially published in French by Stéphanas Assocle 

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum