It is not just governments that have realised the need for private-sector investment in their countries, but it is also an era in which the private sector is adding a far more responsible touch to the investments they make.
Current private-sector investment in mining in particular is accompanied today by enthusiastic steps being taken by investing companies to implement environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles. This far better approach is coinciding with governments realising that owning all their mining resources through nationalisation is worthless without the funding to develop them.
Looking promising is the way Zambia is going about attracting private-sector investment – and Angola is not far behind. Both Southern African countries are attracting noticeable private-sector attention, and the mining companies that are opting to invest are letting everyone know about their commitment to ESG and how they intend helping the community. This is a promising win-win approach. Hopefully, it will result in populations being able to benefit from new economic growth in the not-too-distant future.