Online Reporter
Harmony Agere
Zimbabwe’s economy is on a strong growth trajectory and is poised to generate more than US$20 billion in foreign currency receipts this year, driven by a rapidly expanding manufacturing sector, the African Economic Development Strategies (AEDS) has said.
Presenting findings from an industrial survey at the Zimbabwe Industrialisation Conference and Expo, AEDS executive director Professor Gift Mugano said manufacturing had become the country’s largest contributor to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (17.1 percent), underlining the success of ongoing industrialisation efforts.
“The manufacturing sector is now the biggest contributor to the gross domestic product,” he said.
“Last year, we were contributing 16.8 percent to GDP and this year, by June, the contribution has risen to 17.1 percent. This is clear testimony that the economy is working.”
The survey, which covered 2 071 firms across all 10 provinces and 22 manufacturing-related sectors, found that exports of manufactured products had surged from below US$200 million in 2021 to US$584 million, with projections of surpassing US$1 billion by 2030.
Manufacturing growth is being driven by food processing, beverages, chemicals, iron and steel, cement production and lithium beneficiation.
Professor Mugano said the pharmaceutical industry had expanded significantly, with manufacturers increasing from nine to 14, while the number of locally produced medicines had grown from 900 to 1 500.
Some Zimbabwean pharmaceutical products are now being exported to neighbouring countries.
According to the survey, the iron and steel industry has created 25 000 jobs over the past five years, while investment has also seen the country grow to about 10 cement manufacturers.
Professor Mugano said Zimbabwe’s US$10 billion import bill reflected growing industrial investment, with about 35 percent spent on machinery and equipment.
“We observed that 30 percent of our import bill is machinery and equipment,” he said.
“This amplifies the view that this economy is working because importing machinery is building the foundation for sustainable growth.”
The survey also found that sugar production had reached 100 percent local content, while between 75 and 85 percent of locally manufactured goods are absorbed by the domestic market.
Professor Mugano urged policymakers to harness pension funds as a source of long-term industrial financing, saying they could unlock significant investment for manufacturing.
Looking ahead, he said 63 percent of surveyed companies were optimistic about business prospects in 2027, with many expecting to create more jobs as industrial expansion gathers momentum.
