Mr. Kelvin Kamayoyo, Expo Advisor-Western Province has said the news that Elon Musk’s Starlink is coming to Zambia soon will help Western Province maximise the gains from the Western Province Tourism, Trade and lnvestment Expo slated for 10th to 15th October, 2022 in Mongu. Mr. Kamayoyo expressed happiness that Elon Musk, the richest man on earth, has accepted to bring his company Starlink to provide high-speed internet services to Zambia following an intervention by the Republican President, His Excellency, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema who is also Zambia’s Chief Marketing Officer. This indeed is a great news for Zambia’s economy because it will increase competition in the ICT sector, reduce the cost of Internet services and boost investment opportunities’ horizons for SMEs both domiciled in urban and rural parts of the country.
Mr. Kamayoyo said the Western Province Expo will be held under the theme: “Rapid Economic Transformation through increased home-grown entrepreneurship, value addition and trade” and progressive developments such as the coming of Starlink, will significantly help buttress investor confidence to the benefit of the Province. He noted that the coming of Starlink into Zambia will greatly transform the ICT sector, exponentially increase financial inclusion countrywide which according to 2015 FinScope Zambia Survey is estimated at 40 percent of Zambia’s adult population and boost business transactions irrespective of the distance as connectivity will now be more effective and highly efficient.
Mr. Kamayoyo further said that Elon Musk’s desire and exemplary works through technology is undeniably helping to reduce the global cost of doing business as it signifcantly eliminates the inherent sunk-cost often associated with hard-core infrastructure expenditure and is user-friendly. He noted that the presence of Starlink in Zambia will greatly help the remote rural areas and SMEs alike, to easily unleash their economic talent or potential and experience rapid growth that transform livelihoods for the better.
In this regard, the high-speed internet services and global coverage capabilities coming with Starlink’s innovative product services will irresistibly help break barriers frequently associated with internet sluggish connectivity in some parts of the country, improve access to market intelligence for growth and enhance business opportunity discoveries for all Zambians, said Kamayoyo. He further said, Zambia is blessed to be among the first countries in Africa to access this Starlink cutting-edge technology following Mozambique and Nigeria, which will positively contribute to accelerating efforts towards attaining the African Union (AU) Vision 2063 through rapid digitalisation, cost efficiency and deepening continental free trade integration for a better shared future.
