Online Reporter
Judith Phiri
Zimpapers Business Hub
THE Zimbabwe Leather Development Council (ZLDC) says the leather sector achieved several milestones last year, driving progress towards key targets under the Zimbabwe Leather Sector Strategy (2021-2030).
ZLDC promotes the development of Zimbabwe’s leather industry, represents the industry’s interests, sets industry standards, promotes technological upgrades and facilitates training to improve the quality of leather products.
As the new year begins, ZLDC and key stakeholders in the leather industry value chain highlighted some of the notable achievements in the leather industry and value chain last year.
“In 2025, the Zimbabwe leather sector’s key achievements were strategic initiatives aimed at regional integration, value addition and capacity building.
“These efforts were primarily driven by collaborations with local, regional and international bodies and the Government’s focus on leather sector revitalisation,” ZLDC secretary, Mr Jacob Nyathi, said in an update.
He said the council promoted regional integration when the Zimbabwe Leather Value Chain co-hosted the inaugural Southern African Development Community/Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (SADC/GIZ) Regional Leather Forum.
ZLDC also facilitated a Business-to-Business (B2B) workshop in Bulawayo in July last year to boost regional trade, encourage investments and harmonise policies and standards.
Mr Nyathi, who is also the chairman of the Standard Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ)’s Technical Committee for Standards for Leather, Footwear and Accessories, said the regional leather forum was attended by over 30 regional participants from 15 SADC member states.
The B2B 2-day workshop was attended by 133 participants from leather sector players from across the SADC member states.
“The leather forum brought together national and regional stakeholders, including policy makers, industry associations, development partners, academia and private sector actors to discuss the implementation of the SADC Model Policy Framework for the Regional Leather Value Chain among other key issues,” he added.
He said they were excited that the implementation of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Value Chain and Livelihoods Enhancement Project (ZAVaCLEP) would address key issues identified under the Zimbabwe Leather Sector Strategy (2021-2030).
The design studios established in Zimbabwe and the planned establishment of a manufacturing plant, Mr Nyati said, would improve the quality of leather products through various training sessions on quality.
The facilities are also expected to promote the sustainable production techniques of high-quality standards, able to penetrate regional and international markets.
“We believe the challenges of the Zimbabwe leather value chain, which include, among others, poor quality raw hides and skins supply; lack of regional and international market access, affordable and sustainable financing arrangements, will be adequately addressed during the implementation of the ZAVaCLEP project, which recently commenced its implementation phase,” he said.
He said local leather producers were often constrained by weak supply chains and unfair competition from cheap and second-hand or inferior footwear and leather products, including counterfeit non-leather materials.
In 2025, leather sector players also attended several events and forums, local and international, which are key to the sector’s development and growth.
A team from Zimbabwe also participated in the 18th Africa Leather and Leather Products Institute (ALLPI) Annual Consultative Forum in Zambia.
The forum brought together over 200 participants from more than 20 African countries, Europe and the Americas.
This included over 60 small and medium enterprises, 15 regional designers, policy makers and officials (from the African union Commission and AfCFTA), development partners and financial institutions.
Since the Zimbabwe Leather Sector Strategy (2021-2030) was conceived, Zimbabwe’s leather value chain has received assistance from development partners.
Some of the support received from ALLPI and the SADC Solidaridad project addressed capacity building in skills training, particularly targeting SMEs, women and youth.
Zimbabwe also received financial support under the 11th European Development Fund for the Regional Enterprise Competitiveness and Access to Markets Programme through the COMESA Secretariat, for the Satellite Design Studio.
The facility, housed at the Leather Institute of Zimbabwe (LIZ) in Bulawayo, was launched in June this year.
Zimbabwe’s leather sector is undergoing a revival, driven by initiatives under the Zimbabwe Leather Sector Strategy (2021-2030), to boost value addition, increase exports (from 10 percent to 40 percent of production) and improve competitiveness through technology, farmer training and better policies.
This will be achieved through support from bodies like ALLPI and ZimTrade, with the ultimate goal to move beyond raw hide exports and to capture a larger share of the US$130 billion global market.
Despite several challenges faced by the industry, focus is on modernising, incentivising farmers for production of quality hides and leveraging regional trade for sustainable economic growth and jobs.
