Online Reporter
Mangaliso Ndlovu
As the Government, we have not acted in isolation in developing the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy (ZNIDP) 2 (2026-2030), the Consumer Protection Policy (2026-2030) and the Local Content Strategy (2026-2035).
These are outcomes of deliberate and extensive engagement with the private sector, business associations, the academia, development partners and other key stakeholders.
Their practical insights, empirical evidence and sector expertise have ensured that these policies are not only ambitious in vision but also grounded in operational realities.
The first quarter of 2026 has already provided encouraging signals for our industrial sector.
The manufacturing sector maintained a steady recovery and growth trajectory, with average capacity utilisation estimated at approximately 57 percent across key sub-sectors, including agro-processing, beverages and basic consumer goods.
Zimbabwe has achieved an important milestone in attaining single-digit inflation, while exchange rate stability has enhanced confidence and predictability within the business environment.
Manufactured exports of value-added products increased by 18 percent, rising from US$69,8 million in January-February 2025 to US$80,26 million during the same period in 2026.
This growth was driven by iron and steel, building and construction materials, manufactured tobacco, packaging, ferrochrome and alloys.
These developments are significant because they improve planning horizons, restore investor confidence and create a stronger platform for industrial growth.
Let me emphasise that macroeconomic stability is not an end in itself, but rather a foundation for meaningful structural transformation.
I, therefore, urge the private sector to leverage this stability to increase production, expand exports and adopt modern, high-efficiency technologies to enhance operational efficiency and push the production possibility frontier outwards.
On our part as Government, we are very much alive to the funding challenges facing industry and, as such, we have since operationalised the Industrial Development Fund, earmarked to support retooling, working capital requirements and industrial expansion.
While this allocation remains modest relative to the scale of need, we are committed to ensuring that it becomes fully revolving and self-sustaining over time.
At the same time, the Government is intensifying reforms aimed at improving the operating environment, with significant progress made so far towards reducing regulatory bottlenecks, improving service delivery and enhancing the ease of doing business.
Understanding the national industrial development policy
Zimbabwe’s industrialisation agenda is a national journey.
That journey began with stabilisation under the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy (ZNIDP) 1 (2019-2023), moved into reconstruction under the Zimbabwe Industrial Reconstruction and Growth Plan (ZIRGP) (2024-2025) and now enters a transformative phase under ZNIDP 2 (2026-2030).
This new phase is about industrial deepening, value creation, competitiveness and resilience. It is about fundamentally restructuring our economy from one that exports raw materials and imports finished products into one that produces, processes, manufactures and exports higher-value goods.
ZNIDP 2 is the principal framework guiding this transition.
It seeks to position Zimbabwe for higher-value manufacturing, modernised and integrated value chains, technology-driven industrialisation and stronger export competitiveness.
It places deliberate emphasis on industrial diversification, value addition, beneficiation, sustainability and the upgrading of both large enterprises and small to medium industries.
Let me point out clearly that ZNIDP 2 is our first industrial policy to place strong and structured emphasis on mineral value addition and beneficiation as a manufacturing imperative.
As a nation richly endowed with minerals, we can no longer be content with exporting raw resources while importing finished products derived from them.
Our minerals must make a meaningful contribution to domestic industrialisation, employment creation and long-term economic prosperity.
To this end, Government has identified 11 mineral-based value chains for focused promotion, in close collaboration with the Ministries of Mines and Finance, as well as key private sector stakeholders.
These include coal; iron ore; lithium; chrome; platinum group metals (PGMs); and phosphates.
Collectively, we are advancing this agenda to enhance value addition, anchored in the ongoing industrial zone designation programme, which is targeting mineral-rich areas as special economic zones for accelerated development.
The opportunities that this trajectory unlocks for the broader manufacturing sector are enormous.
We will be adopting an integrated ecosystem approach, closely interrogating possibilities for local enterprise development, leveraging the emerging iron and steel upstream and downstream industries.
In a similar vein, and in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources, we have strengthened collaboration around 15 critical agro-based value chains identified as strategic drivers of growth.
These include grains, cereals, oil seeds and fertiliser.
In a deliberate and structured manner, we have also begun mapping industrial inputs that support agricultural production, including packaging materials, seed systems and agricultural mechanisation equipment as scalable projects within the manufacturing sector.
These interventions are aimed at deepening production linkages between agriculture, mining and manufacturing, thereby fostering a more integrated, efficient and sustainable industrial ecosystem.
It is, therefore, my expectation that the full implementation of ZNIDP 2 should deliver on these imperatives.
Local Content Strategy
A central reality recognised by ZNIDP 2 is that Zimbabwe has more than US$4 billion worth of imports that can be competitively substituted through domestic production.
This represents not a challenge, but an opportunity to expand local industry, create employment, strengthen domestic supply chains and retain value within our borders.
That opportunity is precisely where the Local Content Strategy becomes critical.
The Local Content Strategy is the practical implementation lever of industrialisation as it seeks to prioritise local production in procurement systems, encourage sourcing from domestic suppliers and ensure that Zimbabwean enterprises participate meaningfully in major projects and investments.
As part of the implementation of the Local Content Strategy, the ministry has reconstituted a Local Content Steering Committee composed of seasoned industrialists, experienced academics, including talented young people, working in collaboration with the public sector.
The committee operates under clear and specific terms of reference, key among which is the finalisation of sector-specific thresholds that have already been developed, as well as ensuring the operationalisation of the National Digital Local Content Rating System.
This system is designed to track compliance, measure localisation levels and promote accountability across the economy.
In addition, we have developed the “Made in Zimbabwe” catalogue, which clearly profiles locally manufactured products across all sectors of the economy.
This initiative is intended to guide ministries, departments and agencies in their procurement decisions, thereby promoting local industry participation and strengthening domestic value chains.
The strategy ensures that industrialisation is not abstract; it is measurable, practical and embedded in everyday economic activity.
At the same time, we recognise that industrial competitiveness must be matched by fairness, quality and trust.
Consumer Protection Policy
In addition to the ZNIDP 2, we now have the Consumer Protection Policy (CPP), which was recently approved by Cabinet, marking a historic milestone as the first comprehensive consumer protection policy in Zimbabwe.
While the Consumer Protection Act was promulgated in March 2019, this new policy goes further by providing a structured framework that augments the ZNIDP 2, which remains the ministry’s anchor document.
The policy strengthens our industrialisation agenda by ensuring that economic growth is supported by quality, adherence to standards and fairness.
As domestic production expands, it is essential that we build and maintain consumer confidence in locally manufactured products.
A competitive industry is one that enjoys the trust of its consumers and the CPP reinforces this by promoting product integrity, fair market practices and compliance with established standards.
Ultimately, this policy safeguards consumers and also enhances the competitiveness of Zimbabwean products in regional and international markets.
The lessons from our previous frameworks are clear. Policies do not transform economies on paper. Implementation does.
As Government, we have facilitated the policy formulation process.
We have consulted widely.
We have secured approvals.
Most importantly, we have prepared a detailed, time-bound implementation matrix to guide execution, monitor progress and ensure accountability.
As I conclude, let me say that the architecture is now in place. What is required now is decisive action. We are inviting the private sector to spearhead implementation.
Industry must lead in investment, innovation, localisation and production expansion.
Business must drive competitiveness and operational excellence.
Mangaliso Ndlovu is the Minister of Industry and Commerce. He was speaking at a breakfast meeting on the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development
