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THE attractiveness of Zimbabwe as an investment destination is not just growing, but also being seen by investors in a lot more countries, with citizens of 46 countries deciding last year to invest in the country.
At the same time, the number of new investment licences granted rose dramatically by 130 percent to 615, and this is comparing a normal year with a normal year as both 2022 and last year came after the clamp down on travel and much of new business activity as a result of Covid-19, when there was obviously a jump in investment as things returned to normal.
The growth is continuing this year as well, even after reaching high levels.
The rise in investment, and the geographical spread of investors, highlight two major policies of President Mnangagwa’s Second Republic, the practical clean-up of investment laws and regulations to make them simpler and easier to navigate, and the foreign policy that Zimbabwe has no enemies, wanting to be a friend to all and an enemy to none.
This means that an investor or potential investor has an ever-clearer idea of what they need to do to invest, and that process has largely been moved into a one-stop unit, and what sort of duties and responsibilities they assume on investing, such as their tax, environmental and labour requirements. A lot of the ease of investment is making the law simpler and clearer, rather than weaker, so it is easier and fairer to administer.
The foreign policy, and the natural Zimbabwean acceptance of foreign visitors, means that regardless of the passport a potential investor carries, they will be welcome in Zimbabwe and be treated properly, and if they invest they will have the same welcome as investors from other countries.
One reason for the rising number of serious investors is that word gets around. Talk is fairly cheap so, while Zimbabwe makes the right noises, what matters is whether the laid down policies are in fact implemented.
And since the Government walks the talk, they are, and that sort of responsible investment promotion does become known and can put Zimbabwe ahead of the pack.
Even where Zimbabwe is weak, and regrettably while we are busy building up our energy sector, there is, for example, a deficiency of electricity for part of every day. But here investors will be helped.
They are welcome to install their own solar, and even have metering that allows them to sell any surplus. If they wish to import this can be arranged very quickly and Zesa will deliver the imports across the grid. In other words we will bend over backwards.
As was made clear this week at the stakeholder forum of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA, the leadership for the investor-friendly policy is set by President Mnangagwa, and he has been the leading promoter of investment, always making time to meet visiting investors in Zimbabwe and arranging meetings with those interested when he goes on foreign trips.
This again is something that potential investors like to see, that the policies and welcomes are backed solidly by the President, and are not just advertising, but are central to Government policy.
The investment drive has been coupled with a major anti-corruption campaign that has been highly effective and again is backed by the President.
Zimbabwe, according to some potential investors, did in the past lose some investment or at least saw investors simply go away. No one likes being battened onto and treated like a source of perennial illegal funds.
The stakeholder forum ZIDA is hosting this week is another example of how Zimbabwe is attracting investment. The forum is there to see how everything can be made better. We are not resting on our laurels or leaving it to the President, but are building up the institutional backing and support required.
Among the attractions of Zimbabwe, along with the natural resources and the relentless and determined efforts to upgrade infrastructure, is the emphasis that Zimbabwe has placed on education and training since independence, now being upgraded with the Education 5.0 model that ensures that those coming out of schools, polytechnics and universities know how to apply their education.
This means that there will be suitable service business that any investor requires for goods and services from outside the organisation. No company can do everything in house.
Secondly it means that a new business or a major new investment can very quickly have an almost totally Zimbabwean staff compliment.
Some countries have to put in rigid requirements for external investors when it comes to hiring. Zimbabwe can largely rely on market forces, it being significantly cheaper to hire locally than bring in foreigners, so long as the local skills base is adequate or better.
Even when salaries are the same, the local hires do not need “home leave”, educational allowances to send their children home to school and all the other expenses that expatriate staff can generate.
This is why even when a foreign “tiger team” has to be brought in to set up a new venture, the Zimbabwean staff are already being trained, the training basically being conversion to the new systems rather than anything from scratch.
Investors who have been around for a few years either go for 100 percent local staff, with the cable connection to the investor’s office, or have just one or two foreigners here. With the pool of talent on tap it makes sense to do it that way.
This means, as well, that inward investment is totally welcome to everyone in Zimbabwe, as it speeds up economic growth and creates jobs, usually very good jobs, and provides more customers for the best of the local supply businesses. Looking at the full range of Zimbabwean politics and media, there is zero anti-foreigner sentiment, largely because the inward investment is so positive.
Online Reporter