Conrad Mwanza
Dear Diaspora,
I WANT to ask you to do something: take a look at Zimbabwe.
Not through Facebook or WhatsApp groups. Come home and see for yourself.
Zimbabwe is transforming.
Here are developments to pay attention to.
Load-shedding
Load-shedding has become a thing of the past. Zimbabwe has not experienced load-shedding this year. We have to celebrate our wins.
Electricity supply has improved and investment in generation, including the additional Hwange capacity, has made a huge difference.
This matters enormously. Electricity is not simply about keeping the lights on; it is economic infrastructure. Factories, mines, hotels, farms, technology companies and homes all powered.
Zimbabwe now more connected
The Zimbabwe of today is increasingly connected through fibre, 4G, mobile internet, home broadband, satellite internet, digital services, internet banking and online businesses.
Banking convenient
Banking and payments are increasingly digital and convenient. ATMs remain part of the system, cards are widely used, mobile money is deeply established, and internet banking continues to develop.
The financial system is becoming more integrated into everyday digital life. That matters because convenience creates confidence.
Technology is quietly changing everyday life
Zimbabwe is becoming more digital.
People are increasingly paying electronically, bank on their phones, order products and services online, work remotely, run businesses through WhatsApp, market through social media, transfer money digitally and access Government and commercial services online.
Zimbabwean entrepreneurs are building businesses that would have been difficult to imagine 15 years ago. Technology is also reducing one of Zimbabwe’s historic disadvantages: geography.
A Zimbabwean entrepreneur sitting in Harare or Bulawayo can sell expertise to London, communicate with Dubai and market a product globally. That is a fundamental shift.
The roads
Drive around Zimbabwe and pay attention to the infrastructure work. The Harare–Beitbridge corridor has undergone major rehabilitation, and work continues on other strategic roads and corridors.
Enormous road-maintenance is underway. Roads connect farmers to markets and reduce the cost of doing business. When roads improve, economies become more connected.
Mining
Zimbabwe has extraordinary mineral resources, including gold, platinum, lithium, chrome, nickel and coal.
The opportunity is not simply to extract these minerals and send them elsewhere. The bigger opportunity lies in the ecosystem that develops around mining: engineering, transport, equipment, construction, technology, energy, accommodation, professional services, processing and manufacturing.
Every major mine creates opportunities for businesses around it.
For the diaspora, the question should not only be, “Can I own a mine?” It should also be, “What services will the mining industry need over the next 20 years?”
Agriculture
Look at what Zimbabwe can grow: blueberries, avocados, macadamia nuts, citrus, vegetables, maize, tobacco, horticultural products and indigenous foods and fruits.
We have land, sunshine, water resources that can be developed further, agricultural knowledge and access to regional and international markets.
Agriculture is not simply farming. It includes processing, packaging, cold storage, logistics, exporting, branding, technology, retail and food manufacturing.
Why should Zimbabwean food brands not eventually sit on shelves around the world?
Doing business
The Second Republic has done a lot of work to improve ease of doing business, including tax reforms and regulatory fee cuts.
Confidence
This may be the most important development of all.
I see people building. Homes are being constructed, businesses are being started, farms are being developed, properties are being bought and young people are creating companies. Zimbabweans abroad are also beginning to look home again.
Confidence matters because countries do not develop only because Governments announce policies. They develop when millions of individuals make decisions based on a belief in tomorrow.
“I will buy the land. I will build the house. I will start the company. I will plant the crop. I will invest. I will come home.”
That is how momentum begins.
Do not be left behind
My concern is not that the diaspora may not notice Zimbabwe changing. My concern is that some will notice too late — after the land has appreciated, after the neighbourhood has developed, after somebody else has built the business and after the opportunity everyone dismissed has become obvious.
The best time to believe in a place is not necessarily when everybody agrees that it has arrived. Sometimes it is while it is still being built.
And Zimbabwe is still being built.
So, Dear Diaspora, do not just watch Zimbabwe. Participate in Zimbabwe.
Bring your knowledge, your networks, your standards, your capital and your experience. Most importantly, bring your belief.
Zimbabwe is moving. Do not be left behind.
*Conrad Mwanza is the President of Zimbabwe Achievers Association
