Zambia: A General Business Law Overview

An Overview of Economic, Political and Legal Trends

Introduction

In recent years, Zambia has experienced significant economic shifts, evolving political dynamics and notable legal reforms that continue to shape its business and social landscape. In this article, we highlight the latest economic, political and legal trends shaping Zambia’s future, aimed at providing insights for stakeholders operating across various sectors.

Economic trends

Zambia enters 2026 with cautious optimism after navigating a difficult period marked by severe environmental disruptions and a complex political landscape. The effects of the El Niño-induced drought in 2024 continue to ripple through key sectors, including agriculture, energy and manufacturing, but the country’s resilience is beginning to show. While climate-related challenges persist, recent rains have helped stabilise the situation, though the ongoing drought’s impact on hydropower generation and food prices will continue to be felt.

The mining sector remains central to Zambia’s economic future, with copper production continuing to rebound strongly as mining companies scale up operations. Global copper prices are expected to support Zambia’s export revenues, providing critical foreign-exchange inflows. However, international commodity price fluctuations and concerns over Zambia's dependency on copper remain key factors to consider in 2026. The government’s efforts to diversify into energy, infrastructure, tourism, manufacturing and agribusiness are becoming increasingly important as the country seeks to reduce reliance on a single resource.

The nation’s economic outlook is bolstered by fiscal stabilisation measures, with multilateral support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) playing a key role in restoring fiscal discipline and unlocking concessional financing. However, businesses will continue to grapple with inflationary pressures, which are projected to remain elevated throughout the year, particularly impacting sectors dependent on foreign-currency transactions. Interest-rate fluctuations and exchange-rate volatility are additional challenges for companies operating in Zambia

Political trends

Zambia operates under a unitary presidential system with a multi-party democracy. The country follows a constitutional framework that defines the roles of the executive, legislature and judiciary, ensuring a system of checks and balances. Elections are held every five years for presidency, parliament and local councils with the next elections scheduled for 13 August 2026. Zambia is one of Africa’s most politically stable democracies, having recorded multiple peaceful elections resulting in power shifting between parties without violence.

Political dynamics in Zambia will also be a key factor for businesses in 2026 as any shifts in political leadership can result in changes in public expenditure patterns, procurement cycles, and regulatory decision-making. Businesses must anticipate potential delays in approvals during transition periods, if any, and should align major transactions with the broader electoral calendar.

Legal trends

As of early 2026, key developments in Zambia's legal landscape include the following.

The Bank of Zambia Currency Directives, 2025

The Bank of Zambia (BoZ) issued the Bank of Zambia Currency Directives, 2025 (the “Directives”) pursuant to Sections 18 and 73 of the Bank of Zambia Act of 2022, which came into force on 26 December 2025. The Directives operationalise and reinforce the statutory requirement that domestic transactions be settled in Zambian local currency, Kwacha and Ngwee, while allowing limited, specified exemptions.

The Directives apply to persons and to the Zambian government undertaking domestic transactions. A “domestic transaction” is defined as a private or public transaction in Zambia that involves payment of a sum of money for the credit of a person resident in Zambia, except as provided in the Schedule of Exemptions to the Directives (the “Schedule of Exemptions”).

As a general rule, settlement of payment for domestic transactions must be made only in domestic currency (Kwacha and Ngwee), except for transactions specified in the Schedule of Exemptions. Where a domestic transaction is governed by a contract or agreement denominated in foreign currency, settlement must be made in the corresponding amount expressed in domestic currency, converted at the market exchange rate (ie, the current retail buying or selling rate quoted or displayed by a commercial bank). If the parties do not agree on the market exchange rate to be used, the BoZ Kwacha/US dollar mid exchange rate is the reference rate.

Where the Zambian government is a party to a domestic transaction, neither the government nor its counterparty may quote, pay or be paid, demand payment or receive payment in foreign currency, except for applicable transactions specified in the Schedule of Exemptions.

The Schedule of Exemptions permits settlement in foreign currency or another applicable currency for, inter alia, the following transactions:

• mining sector tax remittances to the Zambia Revenue Authority through sale of foreign currency to the BoZ at the current BoZ Kwacha/US dollar mid exchange rate or the current BoZ Kwacha/Chinese renminbi mid exchange rate (as published on the BoZ website);

• tolls due in foreign currency to government agencies;

• payments in, or towards satisfaction of an existing or future foreign currency liability with a financial product issuer or service provider (such as dividends, principal and interest), including foreign-currency/foreign-currency-component products regulated under: (i) the Banking and Financial Services Act, 2017 (ii) the Securities Act, 2016 and (iii) the Insurance Act, 2021;

• specified mining transactions, including tolling services and inter/intra-company sale of minerals or processed mineral products (each subject to a tax-remittance condition), and payments for highly specialised mining equipment/components and engineering services incidental to mining;

• payments by non-residents for tourism services offered by tourism enterprises registered under the Tourism and Hospitality Act, 2015;

• production, transmission, distribution and trading of electricity;

• enclaves of foreign governments and bodies;

• exports and imports;

• exports of agricultural products and gemstones through aggregators and auctions; and

• farmer payments to input suppliers for seeds, fertilisers and chemicals supplied through trade credit.

Amendments to the Companies Act

In December 2025, the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2025 was passed which introduces significant corporate reporting and compliance requirements relating to beneficial ownership and corporate governance. Its comprehensive beneficial ownership regime, stricter incorporation criteria, and enhanced enforcement powers reflect a modernised approach to company regulation aimed at transparency and accountability.

The changes introduced include expanded definitions of beneficial ownership, control, nominee and ultimate effective control, thereby introducing a clearer framework for accurate and up-to-date beneficial ownership records. The amendments also enhance the Registrar of Companies’ (the “Registrar”) oversight powers including ability to conduct periodic reviews of companies and new requirements for submitting mandatory updates. Other changes are aimed at enhancing the framework to combat money laundering and financial crimes by enhancing, among other things, compliance requirements and enforcement measures such as administrative penalties and deregistration for persisting non-compliance. This is aimed at further aligning Zambia’s corporate framework with international best practices and norms around anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and broader public interest safeguards.

The amendments have also introduced reforms around corporate governance aimed at providing a framework for easier and practical decision making such as the Registrar’s power to convene a meeting of a company, where it is not practical to convene a meeting in a usual manner, and the recognition that in appropriate cases, a single member/shareholder may pass a valid and legally binding resolution on behalf of the company which is a progressive shift from the previous position that required multiple shareholders to pass resolutions which was, in some situations, impractical.

New mining legislation

In June 2025, the Mines and Minerals Development Act, 2015, which was the principal legislation regulating mining in Zambia was repealed and replaced by Mineral Regulation Commission Act No 14 of 2024 (the “New Mines Act”) and The Geological and Minerals Development Act, 2025 (the “Minerals Development Act”).

The New Mines Act creates the Minerals Regulation Commission, provides for its functions and establishes the Mining Appeals Tribunal, among other things. The Mineral Regulation Commission is a body corporate that now regulates and monitors the mining industry and mining operations including issuance, suspension and revocation of licences in the mining sector, regulation and monitoring of mineral marketing and trading in, and export of, minerals the functions which were previously performed by the Ministry responsible for Mines.

The Minerals Development Act, on the other hand, regulates, among other things, geological surveys, mapping and exploration of mineral resources in Zambia. The Minerals Development Act further establishes the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Fund, stipulates rules for access to land for survey purposes and provides for the development of a comprehensive geological database to support exploration and investment decisions.

New Trade Marks Act

The Trade Marks Act No 11 of 2024 become law in December 2015, repealing the 1958 Trade Mark Act. It brings crucial developments to intellectual property and the registration of trade marks in Zambia. The Act modernises Zambia’s trade mark law by providing the geographical indications and the granting rights arising from their registration. Additionally, the Act goes further to align Zambia’s trade mark system with international treaties including to formally domesticate the Madrid Protocol, enabling international trade mark registrations and strengthening Zambia’s integration into the global IP system.