Proposals should be submitted by 26 October. The US firm selected will be paid in US dollars from a $3 million grant to Anzana from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).
The Copperbelt region is a mineral-rich region that straddles the DRC and Zambia, including the provinces of Lualaba and Haut-Katanga in the DRC and Zambia’s Copperbelt and North-Western provinces. The Lobito Corridor is a G7 project in Africa designed to connect the Copperbelt to the Port of Lobito in Angola via multiple logistics and rail investments, enabling more direct transport of copper, cobalt, and other minerals to US and European markets.
Anzana is developing this project with the aim to improve power reliability and access for critical mining and industrial operations as well as a population of over 3 million people in the Lualaba Province in southeastern DRC and the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces of Zambia. In early 2026, Anzana, previously known as Virunga Power, formed a strategic collaboration with First Quantum Minerals (FQM), a Canada-based mining and metals company, to develop new hydropower generation projects in northern Zambia, with plans for Anzana, to provide up to 50 MW of reliable baseload power by 2030 to support FQM’s mining operations in Zambia’s North-Western Province (see H&D Issue 2, 2026).
Anzana is a Mauritius-based company that develops, finances, constructs, and operates power generation and distribution utilities in the DRC, Zambia, Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, and Tanzania. Anzana has experience pioneering large-scale, public-private utility models across Sub-Saharan Africa, including the launch of Weza Power in Burundi, a PPP utility Anzana launched in collaboration with the Government of Burundi in 2023 to expand grid access to nearly 70 percent of the country’s population. Anzana also has experience developing generation assets, including its participation in the Ruzizi III hydropower project which is expected to reach financial close in 2026 and will provide 206 MW of power generation to Burundi, Rwanda, and the DRC.
Anzana has requested USTDA assistance to fund project preparation activities for the project in both the DRC and Zambia. Given the different stages of development and requirements in each country, study tasks are tailored to each market as needed. For both markets it will include an electrification expansion plan, US sources of supply, stakeholder workshops, drafting legal documentation, and a business plan. In the DRC specifically, it would also include assessment of the existing electric distribution system, mining energy demand forecasts, new generation rehabilitation plans, and a Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment. In Zambia specifically, the study will develop EPC tender documents, economic and financial analysis, an Environmental and Social Management Framework, and five project-level full ESIAs.
To receive a copy of this RFP, interested applicants should fill out a form on the website of the USTDA, which can be accessed by clicking here.
