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Mpika is one of the 8 districts in Muchinga Province of the Republic of Zambia. The district was founded in 1901and was administered through a sub-centre at that was set up at Makanga’s Village on the banks of the lwitikila river. However, owing to security challenges the Sub-centre was then moved to the location now know as Mpika Boma chosen for its convenient rise and location that was protected by a high range of hills. Mpika was one of the largest District in Zambia with land size of 41,000 square kilometers not until in 2017 when Kanchibiya and Lavushimanda where created out of it and now the district stands land size 17,166.67 Square Kilometer.
Mpika District lies between UTM Coordinates 331,288.13 E and 8,691,995.68 N or DMS: Latitude 11◦49’40.8828’’S and Longitude 31◦27’4.7880’’E.
The district shares boundary with Lavushimanda district in the South – west, shiwang’andu district in the North, kanchibiya in the North – West and Chama in North-East, Lundazi and Mambwe on the South – Eastern part.
Mpika is approximately 647 km away from Lusaka the capital city of Zambia, 177.7 km away from Chinsali the Provincial headquarters of the Muchinga Province and 210 km from Kasama the provincial capital for Northern Province. The major roads that connect the district to the rest of the country and beyond is the Great North Road and Kasama is through M1
The district is also connected by railway network and happens to be the headquarters for the Tazara Zambia Railways for the Northern Region. Air transport is also one way of accessing the district and the district air strip is located approximately 7 km from District Administration in the area called Chibansa.
Mpika has a huge potential for investment in various sectors. The district also offers a good connectivity owing to the availability of modes of transports namely air, railway and road. Banks and filling stations which are operational on 24hour basis also offer a good platform to support running of industries. Favourable climatic conditions and culture of its people also play a role to a good stay of tourist and visitors in general. The availability of affordable raw materials and labour also add to making Mpika the best possible destination for investment in the northern region of Zambia.
Mpika district offers myriad of opportunities for investment and owing to its location, connectivity and availability of natural resources there is need to explore these opportunities so that the district can also contributions to the GDP for the nation. Some of the identified possible areas for investment include;
The district is supplied with hydro power through the 330/132-66KV from Serenje District of central province (Pensulo Sub Station). Mpika has one of the largest sub-stations in the country which has plugging for accepting other forms of energy. Through the Substation, the district has an allocation of 6.2 MVA from which only 11,057 clients have been connected and with 336 clients having paid but not connected due to non-availability of service cables.
It’s worth stating that due to high demand of power country wide more especially during the dry season when water levels become low in the Kariba dam, most places in the country usually become affected and are faced with load shadings that some times even lasts for over 14 hours. Therefore, with such a substation in place and having Mpika endowed with sufficient winds capable of moving turbines, Enough sun shine for generation of solar energy, availability of a waterfalls for possible generation of hydro power and availability of hot springs for generation of geothermal energy. Setting up and investing in energy in Mpika would be profitable and would allow the investor to tap into the market for the northern region and great lakes region.
Potential investiment in the energy sector include..
Mpika like many other districts in Zambia is 
primarily a producer of raw material and with agriculture being the main stay of its economy, many farmers provide easy access of both local and external raw materials from year to year and are being exported in raw form in as far as Tanzania and Congo DRC without value addition thereby limiting benefits from trade. With the district being centrally located in the province and connecting both the Great lakes region, Northern Province, and Luapula Province through Kasama by air, road and rail network. The district of Mpika is best positioned for setting up of manufacturing industries as it could dispatch of finished products.
Possible areas of investment in the manufacturing sector include:
Note for some products investors may not need to construct but engage Tazara on using existing unutilized infrastructure.
Mpika district is one of the districts in Muchinga province that is endowed with precious minerals and among the minerals traced in the district include Lime, Gypsum, Quats, Manganese, gold and germ stones. Therefore, it would be of benefit to carryout explorations in the mining sector for possible investment in mining. Notable area for these minerals include.
Mpika district is one of the most urbanized and populated district in Muchinga Province. The district also being a transit town acts as a business hub for the region thereby increasing the amount of solid waste generated on a daily base. Waste collection in the district is done by the local authority. One a daily base the council collects solid waste from the CBD, Markets, Private premises such as lodges and bars. Owing to limited transport, the Council has not expanded to residential areas. Hence, making this area to be a possible entry for investment.
Mpika Council just using its two tractors collects and disposes to its dump site approximately 36 tons of solid waste on a daily base. Hence, with the current and accumulated waste, investing in a recycling industry would be one venture worth investing in.
Mpika district is on of the most preferred destination for various private and government function such as meetings in the northern region and being surrounded by districts such as shiwang’andu, Kanchibiya and Lavushimanda.
Hotel and Lodges: The districts continue to being the most preferred host for meetings and accommodating high profile dignitaries. Its worth stating that despite having a number of Lodges and one hotel, the district is still unable to handle the demand on accommodation. Hence, making investing in hotel and lodges worth exploring.
Bars and Night Clubs: the district has several bars with only one-night club. However, with having a number of visitors on a daily base, the district is unable to boost of a night club that is acceptable to high profile persons. Hence making investing in the bar and night club business worth exploring.
Hunting and Game Viewing/photographic tourism: The district is home to both north and south Luangwa national parks which are both endowed with various animal spices. Its worth stating that through the department of National Parks and wildlife, one can acquire hunting license and venture into photographic tourism. The department also for acquisition of landin the game parks to those who whish to put up hotels, lodges and bush camps in the national park for purposes of game viewing and adventure.
Nachikufu Curves: the district is home to the Nachikufu Curves located in Mukonteka area of Nachikufu ward. The Nachikufu curves where home to the bushmen’s who happened to be early settlers on the land and during there stay happened to have engaged in art and did rock paintings which to day play a major role in history and touring for the district. With the curves being along the T2 road and has easy access and communication network. Investing in hotels on site would blend well and could be profitable for the investor. Inaddition, the Nachikufu curves have also easy access to the south Luangwa national park.
Water Falls: the district is blessed with water and one of the water falls yet to be exploited is the Kapamba falls in kapamba ward. The Kapamba falls happens to have water throughout the year and besides having the potential for power generation one other aspect worth looking into is hotel and tourism as the falls provides admirable and unforgettable memories to every person who visits.
The district has Four Commercial Banks and a number of money leading institutions. Zambia Postal Services (ZAMPOST) also renders banking facilities and money transfers through Western Union and Swift Cash. All the Banks run Current and Savings Accounts, the banks also run electronic services that can be accessed 24 hours a day as well as hold corporate accounts for institutions such as the District Council and other major Institutions. There is need for investment in this sector as the population and trade is increasing the securing finances should also be a priority.
The main source of livelihood for the people of Mpika District is farming. The major crops cultivated are maize, cassava, sorghum, sweet potatoes, millet and citrus fruits. Over 90% of the farmers in the area are small scale. The primary livestock in the district are cattle, goats, pigs, sheep and poultry, which are reared at a peasant level.
Table 1.0: Major Crops Grown in the District 2021- 2022
Table 2.0 Fruit Production Table 2021-2022
Going by the quantities in fruit production by farmers, it can be seen that the District has good soils and climate to support citrus fruit production on commercial level which would inturn support processing fruit juice industries.
Table 3.0 Vegetable Production Table 2021-2022
Going by the quantities in fruit production by farmers, it can be seen that the District has potential to produce vegetables on commercial level for export.
The fisheries sector equally has great potential to develop. There are abundant water sources for developing both capture and aquaculture fisheries in the District. The District has also potential in the use of cages for fish production. Some notable waters sources for fish farming include; bore holes, which are made possible due to the district’s ability to provide underground water at high tables, the district also has a number of perennial streams and rivers such us Lwitikila, Lufila, Kapamba, Mwanyamadzi, Luchenene, Kanchibiya, Minsonshi and Lubambala to mention a few. Current fish stocks being produced by farmers include; Tilapia and cat fish. However, its worth mentioning that both the local and external markets are unable to satisfy the local demand. Hence making it a good and potential business venture for who would be investors.
Table: 4 below shows the distribution of fish ponds by in the district:
Muchinga Province is located in the northeast of the country and was created in the year 2011 after detaching it from mother province – Northern Province. The name of the province originates from the Muchinga Escarpment; on which it predominantly sits. The province elongates from southwest to northeast and is located on both sides of the Muchinga Mountains (Muchinga Escarpment).
Office of the Permanent Secretary
Provincial Administration
P.O Box 480137
Chinsali