What it really costs to start a business in Zambia.
Tell us who you would employ and what you would run. We work out what you actually need to sell to survive: every wage, every statutory payment, every licence, and still a profit at the end. And how much you need in the bank before you start.
Most people starting out find the real number is higher than they expected. That is the point of this page: it is better to find out now than after you have quoted.
What kind of business is it?
This decides which licences appear and sets a practical starting point. Change anything you like afterwards.
Who will you employ?
Add a group for each level of pay. The wage floors below are the legal minimums set by the 2023 Orders, so the calculator will not let a group fall under one.
Minimum K 2,313.10 a month gross, of which K 1,487.00 is basic pay. Gratuity is worked out on the basic.
What do you want to keep?
Your profit margin is the share of every kwacha of sales you keep after every cost and tax. At 20 percent, K100 of sales leaves you K20.
Money to start with
Wages, NAPSA and NHIMA fall due whether or not your customer has paid you, and paying late costs more than paying. So you need cash in hand from day one. How many months of running costs do you want to hold?
A first business with no trading history and no security may not be offered a facility at any rate. Treat this as the cost if you can get one.
Licences and registrations
Pre-selected for your industry. Every amount is our published figure and every one is editable, because yours will differ by council and by grade.
Did we miss a cost you pay?
Tell us and we will add it. We store the cost, not you: no name, no email, nothing that identifies a person.
Running the place
Everything else you pay to keep going
Rent, internet, airtime, security, cleaning, insurance, accounting, tools, stock. This is your business, so add whatever it actually spends. Yearly and one-off costs are welcome too.
Where every figure comes from
Current means we checked it against the instrument itself. Verify means a secondary source or an unsettled assumption. Indicative means it varies by circumstance.