Putting Metal to Work

Chinese steel manufacturers help upgrade the construction industry in Zambia

- Derrick Silimina

Willy Mbewe, 30, from Zambian capital Lusaka’s sprawling Kalingalinga Township, is motivated by the fact that through his career in metal fabrication, he can provide a service to the community and country at large, while also creating jobs.

In 2012, driven by his passion for engineering, Mbewe studied metal fabrication at Lusaka Trades School in a bid to pursue his dream.

“I like civil engineering and I thought one day I will become an engineer, so that I could serve my country; because as a nation, while we have many qualified engineers that are doing well, most of them are working outside the country,” Mbewe told ChinAfrica.

With the establishment of many Chinese steel manufacturing plants in the country, Mbewe believes that given Zambia’s availability of raw materials, local metal fabricators like himself have the potential to add value to the economy by creating jobs.

Metal fabrication is the creation of metal structures by cutting, bending and assembling. It is a value-added process involving the creation of machines, parts, and structures from various raw materials.

Job creation

In 2015, armed with a small nest egg and some homemade equipment, Mbewe started his dream project. Spurred on by his father, a renowned steel expert in the area known for its expertise in metal fabrication, Mbewe established Amoson Metal Welders.

“I started with just K5,000 ($250), a welding machine and a small grinder, but today I have industrial equipment worth over K20, 000 ($1,000), which can do most of the work with ease,” he said.