Business Reporter
DELTA Corporation’s non-alcoholic beverage portfolio contributed US$473 million in total gross domestic product impact to Zimbabwe’s economy in 2025, supporting over 27 390 jobs, a new independent study has revealed.
The company’s CEO, Mathologonolo Valela, urged regional leaders to adopt policies that allow the private sector to scale up.
The findings, released at an exclusive cocktail reception on the sidelines of the 19th COMESA Business Forum in Harare on Tuesday, were accompanied by a broader regional impact study showing the Coca-Cola system — for which Delta is a key bottler — injected US$3,6 billion into the COMESA economy in 2024.
Speaking to Government officials, industry captains and regional delegates at the Hyatt Regency Harare — The Meikles, Mr Valela positioned the private sector as the critical engine for national growth, stating that the right policy environment is the bedrock of transformative investment.
“The private sector is willing to play that role. We must play our role,” Mr Valela said, adding that business provides the finest capital advice and must partner with natural capital for the benefit of future generations.
He noted that the newly unveiled study, conducted by global consultancy Steward Redqueen, demonstrated what is achievable when policy supports industry. “This type of scale is possible with appropriate policies,” Mr Valela said.
The study revealed a significant employment multiplier effect: for every direct job Delta creates in its non-alcoholic beverage segment, an additional 21 jobs are supported across the economy, spanning retail, agriculture, manufacturing and services.
This localisation strategy saw the company spend US$94 million procuring goods and services from Zimbabwean suppliers in 2025.
“Our business is deeply connected to Zimbabwe’s economy, and we are committed to hiring locally, sourcing locally, and producing locally,” Mr Valela added. “This allows us to be an integral part of the nation’s growth and ensures we continue delivering shared value for our partners and communities.”
The Zimbabwean figures are amplified by the regional study, which highlighted the Coca-Cola system’s deep integration across COMESA. According to the data, the system spent almost US$1,5 billion on goods and services from suppliers across the 21-member bloc, with every direct job supporting an additional 28 jobs across the region.
Mr Valela’s appeal for policy alignment was strongly supported by the evening’s guest of honour, Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Professor Amon Murwira, who delivered a robust keynote address calling for the dismantling of colonial-era trade barriers and a shift in the African mindset towards industrialisation.
Prof Murwira argued that poverty on the continent is a choice driven by flawed educational designs and restrictive borders, which prevent the aggregation of regional produce to meet global demand.
“Break down those barriers. The law that is made for us is the law that we make today. Don’t quote a law of 1950. It was never made for you,” Prof Murwira said.
The minister championed Zimbabwe’s “Education 5.0” model — which focuses on teaching, research, community service, innovation and industrialisation — and cited the successful local manufacturing of 150 000 Covid-19 masks in four days as proof that Africa has the capacity to produce for itself.
“Poverty then becomes a choice. It’s about the model that we used to build a country,” Prof Murwira said. “We are not in mourning mode. We are in movement mode. Africa must work with the whole world. But in confidence. Don’t let things happen to you. Make things happen.”
Minister Murwira said it was critical to dismantle colonial-era rules, “open borders” and ensure private sector-led growth,
His call for a borderless, industrialised continent was echoed by COMESA Business Council president, Mucai Kunyiha, who stressed that while harmonising regulations across 21 governments is difficult, the private sector must lead the charge in building a unified common market.
“Everybody knows that opening those borders is going to help us . . . Now we need to do the difficult work of making that happen,” Mr Kunyiha said.
COMESA Secretary General Ms Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe also addressed the gathering, emphasising that production capacity and industrialisation have become “big ticket” priorities for the bloc.
In a symbolic close to the evening, the dignitaries joined Prof Murwira in raising their glasses to the region’s future. “Industrialisation. Open borders. Great,” the minister declared to the room.
Zimbabwe is hosting the 25th COMESA Summit of Heads of State and Government, a week-long programme that places Harare at the centre of the region’s trade and industrialisation agenda.
The 19th COMESA Business Forum, held under the theme “One Market, One Future: Advancing Inclusive Industrialisation, Investment and Regional Integration in COMESA”, followed the COMESA Green Industries Connect — which examined the role and need for the circular economy, electronics and e-waste, leather, and plastics and packaging — and ran alongside an exhibition of regional enterprises from October 19 to 21.
The forum brought together heads of state, ministers, business leaders and development partners from across the bloc’s 21 member countries.
Three themes dominated the proceedings: industrialisation and value addition, with ZimTrade chief executive Allan Majuru urging the region to move beyond extraction and simple trade towards producing, processing and adding value within COMESA.
Mr Majuru also called for stronger regional integration and the breaking down of trade barriers, with delegates repeatedly stressing that business must drive the region’s green transition and economic transformation.
