Online Reporter
Nelson Gahadza
Senior Business Reporter
THE Government has challenged Zimbabwean manufacturers to continuously innovate and improve standards to remain competitive in an increasingly demanding global market, as the country seeks to consolidate gains made in promoting locally produced goods.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, speaking at the Buy Zimbabwe ZimBrands 2026 Awards held last Friday, said the government was encouraged by the growing dominance of local products on retail shelves despite competition from imports, counterfeit goods and smuggled products.
“We now have 66 percent, that’s two-thirds of the products in all stores being Zimbabwean,” he said.
“We understand how much of a feat that is, given where we have come from. Zimbabwe is a dollarised economy. Being competitive against imports, against counterfeit goods, against smuggled goods, and still being able to fill the shelves with two-thirds of our products is something to be proud of as Zimbabweans.” Deputy Minister Mnangagwa said the Government’s focus was not only on economic growth, but also on ensuring meaningful economic development through industrialisation.
“From a Minister of Finance point of view, working in collaboration with the Minister of Industry, our main job, apart from making sure that there’s economic growth, is to ensure that there’s economic development as well,” he said.
He noted that industrial capacity utilisation had improved to about 56 to 57 percent since 2019, reflecting growing productivity within local industries.
Mr Mnangagwa said under the National Development Strategy 2, the government was targeting manufacturing to contribute 25 percent to gross domestic product from the current 18 percent, while manufactured goods should account for at least 18 percent of exports.
“This is a very deliberate plan by the government,” he said. “What we would want as Government is to make sure that the confidence and trust deficit that might exist closes.”
