Bulawayo regeneration gains momentum

THE gradual reclamation and expansion of factory spaces in Bulawayo’s key industrial zones, coupled with growing demand for remodelled commercial space in the city centre confirm renewed investor interest in a city that previously suffered severe de-industrialisation, economic analysts have said.

As opposed to lamenting the closure of what used to be big companies in the past, surviving established entities are embracing technology and have reconfigured their business models through diversification to tap into new markets including exports, analysts also noted.

The Government under the Second Republic has implemented a variety of transformative projects to create a new economy and regenerate the city of Bulawayo.

The city’s economy is undergoing structural transformation with small to medium enterprises (SMEs) coming in strongly in influencing production and marketing trends, including the need for strategic synergies across sectors.

Recently, Bulawayo has witnessed the reconstruction of old buildings to accommodate more SMEs that are largely in the commercial and services sector, and have forced the partitioning of previously large warehouses into small units.

The sprouting of new malls, largely targeting the informal sector, fast food outlets and fuel service stations has added more business activity, especially in the city centre.

Companies such as Arenel, which in the past used to manufacture sweets have diversified operations and are now into milling, beverages and snacks. Others such as steel manufacturing giant, Pump and Steel, have increased production lines and expanded their factory capacity, cementing their position in the market and Bulawayo’s business viability.

Diversified players like the Treger Group of companies, United Refineries, National Foods and Baker’s Inn, and Simbisa Brands, Oceans, Datlabs, Great Flavors, among several others, have pumped in massive investments into the city in recent years to beef up capacity to supply wider markets.

In the city centre, several modern shopping malls are being constructed to accommodate young entrepreneurs in need of a safer and more secure business environment.

The property sector, with the aid of banks and insurance companies, is also coming in strongly through modern residential housing development in different suburbs. In most of these malls, enterprising and innovative Bulawayo men and women provide goods and services including clothing and telecommunications products.

Association of Business Zimbabwe (ABUZ) chief executive officer Mr Victor Nyoni, said Bulawayo has shifted from lamenting for revival of old industries to embracing new ones with new investors targeting the city.

“What seems to be happening is that there is a new interest in doing business in Bulawayo. There are locals, foreigners and those doing partnerships that are establishing business enterprises in Bulawayo.

“In the past, there was a cry for the revival of Bulawayo industries, bringing back some of those companies that had closed down. But now it seems the new impetus is to allow those industries to die as the city embraces proliferation of small and medium enterprises,” said Mr Nyoni.

He said Bulawayo was gradually coming back to the fore as one of the country’s economic players, albeit with new players.

Bulawayo City Council (BCC) business development officer Mr Kholisani Moyo, concurred and described the construction of new buildings within the city as the “regeneration” of Bulawayo.

He said while the process might be private sector-led, it is part of the city’s development agenda with the council making resolutions to facilitate the modernisation of Bulawayo.

“We have seen that quite a number of companies have subdivided their premises to offer various goods and services unlike what was happening in the past where only one company would occupy the whole building,” he said. “We have malls such as Imbali Mall, which is now bringing a new face to Bulawayo.

“Someone could have left Bulawayo 10 years ago and when coming back would not have found new modern buildings. But buildings such as Imbali Mall are turning Bulawayo into a modern city accommodating small and medium business players,” said Mr Moyo.

“So, as a city, we are embracing a new normal where small and medium enterprise players have become the dominant players in the city’s economic development and are using shared structures, not what used to happen where one big company will occupy a whole building.”

Mr Moyo said some property owners with idle buildings should embrace the new way of doing business and position themselves for a restructured economic model.

He said the city’s regeneration programme entails the development of Makokoba suburb as well as Renkini Bus Terminus, among others.

“In 2021, as a city, we started a programme to regenerate the city. By then we were looking at the old locations such as Makokoba and Mzililikazi and we were thinking about how to develop them to fit within the modern development contexts with better residential areas including high-rising buildings and malls. We had the same thought for Egodini, which is under redevelopment,” he said.

“We also have the same concept for Renkini Bus Terminus and, although we had advertised for people with a concept to take it up, we didn’t get the response that we needed and we are going back to the market to look for people who can come up with a concept to develop Renkini.”

Mr Moyo said part of the city’s regeneration process involves the decongestion of the central business district while also demanding that property owners also refurbish some of their old buildings.

He said this has seen the reconstruction of some of the buildings while partitioning of buildings has become the order of the day.

A local economist, Dr Nqobizitha Dube, said Bulawayo’s economy has shifted from its golden days where manufacturing used to be its mainstay.

“The economy is now based on the provision of goods and services unlike in the past where it was linked to the manufacturing and transportation through the National Railways of Zimbabwe,” he said.

“The economy is now connected to the global economies where individuals import goods. It is now a data-based economy, a light industry economy where importable goods will be imported,” said Dr Dube.

He said business entrepreneurs who are into secondary and tertiary provision of services are the ones who are going to benefit more from the emerging opportunities as a result of the regeneration of the economy. — @nqotshili