Online Reporter
Sikhulekelani Moyo, Zimpapers Business Hub
INVESTORS should view the challenges facing Bulawayo as strategic opportunities for a fresh approach to re-industrialising the metropolitan province, the local authority has said in a recently released report.
In its third-quarter Economic Growth and Stability Thematic Working Group report, the Bulawayo City Council stated that Zimbabwe’s infrastructure gaps, trade deficits, and various initiatives by the Government and its development partners present attractive prospects for investment in profitable sectors.
“The challenges confronting Bulawayo are not insurmountable; they are, in fact, strategic opportunities for a new approach. The infrastructure deficit can be addressed through well-structured public-private partnerships (PPPs).
“The national trade deficit provides a perfect impetus for Bulawayo’s manufacturing sector to take the lead in export diversification, moving the country away from its reliance on raw commodity exports and towards higher-value, finished goods,” reads the report.
The report also highlighted that ZimTrade’s events planned for the fourth quarter of this year offer further opportunities to enhance Bulawayo’s export performance.
On the leather value chain, the local authority encouraged investors to capitalise on the Africa Leather and Leather Products Institute (ALLPI) initiative, which presents an immediate and high-impact opportunity to anchor the revival of the leather sector through large-scale public procurement.
ALLPI has formally engaged the Government to launch a campaign aimed at strengthening enforcement of the local content policy, with a particular focus on the design, production, and supply of national school shoes and footwear for the security forces.
“The operationalisation of the Cold Storage Commission (CSC) provides a ready platform for expanding meat and leather exports,” the report added.
The second half of 2025 saw the CSC resume operations following the completion of its judicial management and its placement under the Mutapa Investment Fund, paving the way for its revival.
The report noted that CSC is now operational, with slaughtering activities underway and refurbishment of its cold chain infrastructure nearing completion.
This revitalisation represents a significant boost for Bulawayo’s meat-processing value chain, creating backward linkages to the agricultural sector and forward linkages to logistics and export markets.
“It signifies a major step in reclaiming the city’s status as a hub for agro-processing,” reads the report.
Meanwhile, the report stated that the “capital vacuum” can now be addressed by leveraging new national mechanisms such as the Industrial Development Fund, signed at the Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference (Zedcon), alongside the mandates of national institutions like the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) and the untapped financial resources of the diaspora.
The Government recently launched a ZiG$100 million Industrial Development Fund (IDF) to stimulate industrial growth across the country.
The fund was unveiled in Bulawayo on the sidelines of the recently held Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference.
