Zambia 5 in 5 with Mary

We are heading to Zambia, a growing market and this is the first of a number of lawyers we interview.

We meet Mary Matupa, a dispute management strategist with training and experience in arbitration, mediation and construction. She is the Founder of iSettle a dispute resolution company based in Lusaka, Zambia and founded YMG Zambia in 2018 and served as its first Chairperson. She was the first YMG Ambassador for South African and an alumni of the 2020 -2021 ICC mentorship Programme.

The IDF reported “Real GDP has grown steadily, from 5.2% in 2022 to 5.8% in 2023, driven by wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, and mining and quarrying on the supply side and by household and corporate consumption on the demand side. Inflationary pressures persist, with inflation at 11.0% at the end of 2022 and 10.9% at the end of 2023, driven mainly by food, transport costs, and the nominal exchange rate. The monetary policy rate has targeted curbing inflationary pressures, with upward revisions from 9.5% in September 2022 to 11.0% in November 2023.

The fiscal deficit improved marginally, from 8.2% of GDP in 2022 to 6.6% in 2023, owing to higher mining sector revenue collections. The current account went from a surplus of 3.8% of GDP in 2022, on higher export volumes and prices and subdued imports of consumer goods, to a deficit of 1.1% in 2023. International reserves declined from 4.4 months of import cover at the end of 2022 to 3.4 months in November 2023, on account of the use of the Extended Credit Facility and Special Drawing Rights from the International Monetary Fund. Improved financial sector performance in 2023 was due to increased economic activity. The ratio of nonperforming loans to gross loans improved from 6.1% in 2022 to 5.1% in 2023. The primary capital adequacy ratio was strong, at 23% at the end of October 2023 and 22.7% at the end of December 2022, owing to increased retained earnings.

About 60% of the population lives below the national poverty line, a slight improvement from 58% in 2015. Poverty levels are much higher in rural areas (78.8%) than urban areas (31.9%). Unemployment remains high, at 13%, especially among youth (24.7%).”