The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has signed an agreement with electric utility company Anzana Electric Group to fund a feasibility study to expand hydropower generation and upgrade electricity distribution networks across the Lualaba province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the North-Western province of Zambia.

Signed on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) high-level week, the agreement comes as the USTDA is strengthening power infrastructure along the Lobito Corridor, a strategic logistics route in Central and Southern Africa vital to diversifying America’s critical minerals supply chains.

The project is aimed at improving the reliability of power supply for copper and cobalt mining operations, as well as for more than three-million residents of the region.

“Reliable power allows mines to operate, businesses to profit and families to thrive.

“This work strengthens the mineral supply chains America’s security and economy depend on, while building the power systems our partners in the DRC and Zambia need to grow,” says USTDA deputy director Thomas Hardy.

The Lobito Corridor enables more direct transport of copper, cobalt and other critical minerals to overseas markets through the Port of Lobito, in Angola.

The USTDA and Anzana say that the USTDA's feasibility study will assess rehabilitating existing hydropower assets, developing new hydropower generation and expanding electricity distribution infrastructure needed to reliably power mining operations that feed the corridor, as well as surrounding communities.

The study will also identify suitable US sources of supply and structure the project to attract financing, creating opportunities to deploy trusted US equipment and engineering services in electricity distribution and hydropower generation.

USTDA-funded programming is carried out by US companies.

The USTDA and Anzana note that reliable electricity access remains a critical challenge in the DRC and Zambia, where mining activity consumes the majority of available power, leaving households and local businesses underserved.

They explain that this project will bring new connections to more than half a million homes and businesses while enabling mining companies along the Lobito Corridor to reduce reliance on costly diesel generation.

By advancing shared US and DRC economic development priorities, the USTDA-funded study also supports the objectives of the Strategic Partnership Agreement signed by the two governments in December 2025.

"The countries along the Lobito Corridor are uniquely positioned to create long-term economic value from their critical minerals.

“Realising that ambition depends on reliable electricity, which underpins industrialisation, drives local value addition, creates jobs and strengthens economies," says Anzana Electric Group CEO Brian Kelly.

"Anzana's win-win approach to infrastructure development brings together public and private partners to identify investment opportunities that advance national development priorities while strengthening strategic supply chains.

“We are proud to partner with the USTDA on an initiative designed to catalyse long-term private investment in the infrastructure needed to support sustainable economic growth and expand opportunity across the Lobito Corridor."

USTDA’s assistance to Anzana complements other USTDA support for the Lobito Corridor, including infrastructure projects for power generation, digital connectivity, port modernisation and critical minerals extraction and processing.