Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe-Zimpapers Business Hub
ZIMBABWE’S rapidly expanding tourism sector is opening a new frontier for capital markets, with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe pushing for financial instruments that could allow ordinary citizens, pension funds and the diaspora to invest directly in hotels, lodges and other tourism assets.
The proposed shift could transform Zimbabweans from visitors and consumers of tourism products into owners of the infrastructure underpinning one of the country’s fastest-growing economic sectors.
Addressing delegates at the recently held 19th edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe Tourism Expo in Masvingo, SECZ acting chief executive Mr Tichaona Mushambadope said the capital market could provide the critical bridge between Zimbabwe’s domestic savings and the growing pipeline of tourism projects.
The opportunity comes as investment in the tourism sector surged 229 percent to US$132,3 million in the first half of 2026, from US$40,2 million during the corresponding period last year. Domestic tourism is also gathering momentum, with 6,4 million domestic visitors recorded during the first half of this year, compared to five million in the same period last year, while international arrivals reached 1,78 million in 2025.
For SECZ, the next phase of the tourism growth story must be to broaden ownership of the sector’s assets.
“Nhaka Yedu means our heritage. The next step is ownership: the Zimbabwean who travels to Great Zimbabwe or Kariba should also be able to own a unit of the lodge they stay in,” said Mr Mushambadope.
The proposition places Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), collective investment schemes, innovative investment instruments and green finance at the centre of efforts to mobilise capital for tourism development.
Zimbabwe already has a foundation on which to build. Four listed REITs have emerged over the past four years — Tigere and Revitus on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, and Eagle and Pfuma on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.
The listed trust sector’s market value grew by about 160 percent in 2025, while Tigere is guiding towards a 6,8 to 7,1 percent US-dollar yield on net asset value for 2026.
Delegates heard that for tourism developers, the REIT model could offer an alternative route to financing by separating property ownership from hotel operations.
Investors can own income-producing tourism assets, while professional hospitality brands focus on operating and managing the facilities.
The model is already beginning to find its way into the tourism sector, with Eagle REIT linked to the 111-key Novotel Victoria Falls project, which is scheduled to open in 2028.
Mr Mushambadope said tourism developers with stabilised and income-producing assets should increasingly explore the possibility of packaging such properties into investment vehicles.
“Bring us your assets. A stabilised, income-producing hotel is a real estate investment trust waiting to happen. Talk to a licensed manager, the exchanges — and us, early. Ask which of your property book could be held more liquidly and with better governance in a listed vehicle. Then seed one.”
Beyond REITs, SECZ sees collective investment schemes as another potentially powerful vehicle for pooling resources from pension funds, insurers, retail investors and the diaspora into diversified tourism portfolios.
Such portfolios could include lodges, conference facilities, airport hotels, tour operators and REIT units. The opportunity is particularly significant given the size of institutional savings in Zimbabwe.
The Insurance and Pensions Commission reported pension assets of US$2,63 billion in June 2025, with 44 percent already invested directly in property, while prescribed assets stood at 10,4 percent against a statutory 20 percent floor. This could create room for tourism projects to compete more aggressively for institutional capital, while pension funds could potentially gain exposure to professionally governed and more liquid property investment structures.
SECZ is also examining newer instruments that could lower barriers to entry and widen participation.
These include fractional and digital ownership, crowdfunding, tourism levy-backed bonds, diaspora bonds, as well as event and conference financing instruments.
However, Mr Mushambadope said innovation must be accompanied by strong investor protection and appropriate regulation.
He outlined a number of measures SECZ believes could accelerate the financing of tourism infrastructure, including a “fast-track review lane” for tourism and hospitality trusts, funds and bond issuances, supported by published service standards.
The Commission is also proposing a prescribed-assets working group involving the Insurance and Pensions Commission and the Ministry of Finance, as well as a hospitality tokenisation pilot within the regulatory sandbox. The pilot would establish rules around custody, disclosure and investor limits before any public offer.
Other proposals include issuer and investor education programmes involving the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, the trust industry association and the exchanges, as well as a green label for trusts, funds and bonds.
Such a framework could allow carbon, renewable-energy certificate and conservation-related cash flows to be verified and financed. SECZ is also pushing for reforms to the Securities and Exchange Act to strengthen investor protection and create a clearer framework for emerging products.
Green and nature finance could become another important source of capital, particularly for tourism developments built around Zimbabwe’s wildlife, forests and renewable-energy resources.
Green bonds, carbon credits, renewable-energy certificates and conservation bonds could potentially unlock additional revenue streams for environmentally sustainable tourism projects.
“Let us give it the capital market the destination deserves,” said Mr Mushambadope.
He argued that Zimbabwe already possesses globally recognised tourism assets, but now requires financial architecture capable of unlocking their full economic value.
“This year’s incentives cut the cost of building. Now cut the cost of financing: align prescribed-asset rules, tax and the Victoria Falls financial-centre framework — and take Nhaka Yedu/Ilifa Lethu beyond visiting to investing, with Visit Zimbabwe funded as seriously as Visit Rwanda.”
The emerging proposition therefore goes beyond financing individual hotels or lodges.
It presents a broader opportunity to connect Zimbabwe’s tourism growth with domestic savings, diaspora capital and institutional investment — potentially ensuring that as visitor numbers rise and new tourism assets are developed, a greater share of the sector’s wealth is owned by Zimbabweans themselves.
