Online Reporter
Richard Muponde
Zimpapers Politics Hub
THE expected visit today by Nigerian billionaire, Mr Aliko Dangote, is more than a routine business engagement as it serves as a strong vote of confidence in President Mnangagwa’s leadership and the economic vision underpinning the Second Republic.
When one reflects on Zimbabwe’s path since 2017 and juxtaposes it with Mr Dangote’s decision to return now, the symbolism is potent.
Here is one of Africa’s foremost industrial investors preparing to commit up to US$1 billion in cement, coal mining, and power-generation ventures, after two earlier visits (in 2015 and 2018) during which deals failed to crystallise.
It is important to recall the background. Mr Dangote’s earlier visits to Zimbabwe were greeted with interest but ultimately led nowhere.
Reports indicate that bureaucratic complexity, inconclusive negotiations on mining licenses, investment security, and fiscal incentives stalled the process.
His willingness to return now, at the invitation of President Mnangagwa, suggests a changed calculus in Zimbabwe’s investment climate and a clearer signalling from Harare of its readiness to host world-class industrial engagements.
The Shift: from Isolation to ‘Open For Business’
Since President Mnangagwa assumed office in November 2017, the country has pivoted away from its previous era of economic isolation and decline towards a re-engagement model.
The Government’s mantra, “Zimbabwe is Open For Business,” is more than a slogan. It is a rallying call that encapsulates the country’s aspirational vision of an Upper Middle Income society.
Early in 2018, President Mnangagwa told business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, that foreign investment was safe and that Zimbabwe was no longer an “isolated island.”
On the official Government of Zimbabwe portal, one finds the invocation: “Zimbabwe has experienced a major transformation in its political and economic environment. The New Dawn, under the leadership of His Excellency the President, ED Mnangagwa, has brought renewed confidence, hope and energised our people to work for sustainable development of the country.”
Beyond rhetoric, the macroeconomic statistics have shown massive economic traction.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank note that Zimbabwe’s economy is expected to rebound to around six percent growth in 2025, after a slump to about 1.7 percent in 2024.
Indeed, the World Bank’s country overview highlights that this outlook is supported by a good agricultural season, record-high gold prices, and remittance inflows.
From a position of economic and financial fragility, this turnaround has been anchored on re-engagement with international financial institutions, and the IMF’s acknowledgment that tighter monetary policy and the halting of quasi-fiscal Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) operations have helped stabilise inflation and the exchange rate.
These developments dovetail neatly with President Mnangagwa and the Second Republic’s doctrine: an inward-looking, self-reliant development agenda articulated through the slogan “Nyika Inovakwa neVene Vayo/Ilizwe Lakhiwa Ngabanikazi Balo” (a country is built by its own people) and “No one and no place left behind.”
The Vision 2030 blueprint for Zimbabwe sets as the goal an upper middle-income economy status by 2030.
That vision is explicitly underpinned by the “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” call and by a repositioning of the country’s image from one of sanctions and isolation to one of opportunity and industrial renewal.
A Strategic investment and continental message
Mr Dangote’s return is both politically and economically strategic.
Politically, his arrival and meeting with President Mnangagwa underscore the President’s personal leadership role in attracting marquee investors.
The fact that the Presidential calendar has been rescheduled to receive Mr Dangote reinforces the importance the Government attaches to the engagement.
Economically, the proposed investment, reportedly in the range of US$800 million to US$1 billion across cement production, a limestone quarry and grinding plant, coal mining, and electric power generation, is one of the largest private industrial commitments Zimbabwe has seen in recent years.
Given Mr Dangote’s continental footprint, his decision to choose Zimbabwe sends a powerful message to other global investors: the country is back in the industrial-investment game.
There are clear global parallels for how a single, high-profile investment by a billionaire or large conglomerate can unlock further investment flows and transform an economy’s image.
For example, in Ethiopia, the Dangote Cement operation helped develop local cement supply chains, reduce construction costs, and demonstrate the feasibility of large-scale manufacturing in Africa. While Zimbabwe’s context is different, the principle is similar: a credible anchor investment reduces perceived risk, creates local value-chains, and signals to other foreign investors that the business environment functions.
Validating policy and paving the way forward
Therefore, the visit is very much a vote of confidence in President Mnangagwa’s economic policies, in Zimbabwe’s improved investment environment, and in the narrative that the country is genuinely open for business.
It suggests that past failings are being addressed and the Government is willing to tailor conditions, streamline licensing, secure investor protections, and mobilise state-level coordination.
It also validates the inward-looking philosophy by showing that Zimbabwe, even under sanctions and external constraints, is capable of attracting one of Africa’s most accomplished industrialists.
Furthermore, it showcases Zimbabwe’s ambition to become a regional industrial hub for Southern African Development Community (SADC), leveraging its resource base, geographic position, and renewed policy regime.
However, for the country to truly benefit from Mr Dangote’s presence, the Government must deliver on regulatory clarity, seamless permit processes, secure land and mining rights, and maintain macro-economic discipline.
The ongoing Structured Dialogue Platform between Zimbabwe and multilateral creditors also remains pivotal in signalling to markets that the reform momentum is credible.
The arrival of Mr Dangote in Zimbabwe on a US$1 billion investment mission is a potent symbol of Zimbabwe’s economic revival under President Mnangagwa’s stewardship.
It offers tangible affirmation that the Second Republic is serious about industrialisation, about building the country with its own people while re-engaging global capital, and about setting the stage for Vision 2030.
If successfully executed, the project will not only deepen Zimbabwe’s manufacturing and mining base, create jobs, and expand its export capacity, but also enhance its global image as one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.
Credit must go to President Mnangagwa for his astute leadership, the impressive repositioning of Zimbabwe’s narrative, and the policy consistency that has enabled this kind of high-profile investor interest.
In the broader SADC context, Mr Dangote’s presence can spur competitive investment flows across the region, strengthen industrial linkages, and ultimately help the region ascend the value chain.
Zimbabwe may well be back on the world map, not as a fading economy, but as a returning powerhouse of investment opportunity.
