Online Reporter
President Mnangagwa’s remarks at Sunway City Special Economic Zone last week reinforced Government’s conviction that Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are no longer optional policy experiments, but essential instruments for accelerating economic development.
His description of SEZs as “fast lane ecosystems for accelerated industrialisation and economic growth” reflects a growing global consensus that these zones are among the most effective platforms for stimulating investment, increasing manufacturing and creating sustainable employment.
This captures the essence of why these designated investment enclaves have become central pillars of economic transformation across the globe.
President Mnangagwa made the observation while commissioning another industrial investment at the Sunway City Special Economic Zone.
It was a reaffirmation of a development model that has transformed some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and one that Zimbabwe is increasingly embracing as it accelerates its journey towards becoming an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
For decades, nations seeking rapid economic transformation have searched for practical ways to industrialise, create jobs and attract investment without overburdening the national economy.
Across continents, one development strategy has consistently delivered remarkable results, the establishment of SEZs.
Today, Zimbabwe is increasingly embracing this model as it pursues Vision 2030, the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and the broader goal of building a modern, industrialised and export-oriented economy.
From China’s remarkable economic rise to Singapore’s emergence as a global trading hub and Indonesia’s rapid industrial expansion, SEZs have repeatedly demonstrated that carefully planned industrial clusters can unlock extraordinary economic growth.
Zimbabwe is now positioning itself to harness those same advantages.
The remarkable growth of Sunway City Special Economic Zone, which now hosts more than 40 enterprises, provides tangible evidence that the country’s industrialisation agenda is steadily gathering momentum.
The zone has become a thriving manufacturing hub, creating employment, attracting investment and expanding domestic production.
Its success offers a glimpse into what is possible when Government provides policy certainty, quality infrastructure and an enabling investment environment.
Apart from Sunway City, the Government has declared many other places as SEZs.
There are two sites in Bulawayo — the Belmont-Kelvin-Donnington Corridor and the Umvumila area close to the Joshua Nkomo International Airport for manufacturing and logistics.
Victoria Falls, anchored on tourism and a financial hub established through the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, is another special economic zone.
A few years ago, Cabinet approved the Conceptual Development Framework for the Victoria Falls-Binga Special Economic Zone and the related nodes following presentation by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works.
The following 10 nodes, most of them being tourist resorts, were identified within the Special Economic Zone, namely: Victoria Falls Municipality Area; Jafuta (Masuwe) Stateland; Batoka Town; Mlibizi Resort; Binga Centre; Sijarira Resort; Binga hinterland; Gwayi-Shangani Dam
Resort; Hwange Town; and the Hwange Aerodrome Centre.
There is also another special economic zone in Mutare.
The country also has private sector special economic zones and these are individual companies operating with special economic zones licences.
Firms with such status include Surewin, Trade Kings, Nkonyeni, Varun, VSLink, Chingases, Colmin, Shepco, Lentsloane, Ecosoft, Afrochine and Prospect Lithium.
SEZs are not a new concept.
Their modern history dates back to the late 1950s when Ireland established the Shannon Free Zone to attract foreign investment and stimulate exports.
But it was China that revolutionised the concept.
When Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping introduced SEZs in 1980, few anticipated the scale of transformation they would unleash.
Shenzhen, once a modest fishing village bordering Hong Kong with around 5 000 people in 1980, became the flagship of China’s economic reforms.
Today it is one of the world’s leading technology and manufacturing cities, home to global giants such as Huawei, Tencent and DJI, with a gross domestic product exceeding that of many independent nations.
The city’s population now stands at more than 18 million.
Other Chinese SEZs such as Zhuhai, Xiamen and Shantou followed similar trajectories, collectively helping lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, while turning China into the world’s manufacturing powerhouse.
The lesson from China is unmistakable.
SEZs succeed when they combine infrastructure, investment incentives, policy consistency, export orientation and efficient administration.
President Mnangagwa echoed these very principles when he assured investors that Government would continue creating “a conducive business and policy environment that rewards productivity, encourages value-added exports and multi-pronged investments.”
Singapore presents another compelling example.
Although the city-state does not rely on conventional SEZs in the same way as larger countries, its industrial estates, free trade zones and integrated logistics parks have been instrumental in transforming a resource-poor island into one of the world’s most competitive economies.
Strategic industrial planning, efficient ports, business-friendly policies and export-driven manufacturing turned Singapore into a global financial, shipping and technology centre.
Indonesia has equally embraced SEZs to diversify its economy beyond commodities.
Industrial zones such as Batam, Kendal and Morowali have attracted billions of dollars in investment into manufacturing, mineral processing and export industries, creating thousands of jobs while promoting regional development beyond Jakarta.
Vietnam has followed a similar path.
Its industrial parks and export processing zones have become magnets for global manufacturers seeking competitive production bases, helping the country become one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies.
Closer to home, countries such as Mauritius and Rwanda have also used specialised economic zones to strengthen manufacturing, logistics and technology sectors while improving export competitiveness.
Zimbabwe’s own SEZs programme is built on these global experiences.
The establishment of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency created the legal framework for attracting both domestic and foreign investment into strategically designated areas.
Rather than concentrating industrial growth in one location, Zimbabwe has deliberately adopted a geographically balanced approach.
A roadmap released recently shows that instead of a one-size-fits-all model, each province in Zimbabwe is expected to develop industries based on its natural resources, agricultural strengths, mineral endowments, tourism assets and geographical location.
Mashonaland West, with its vast agricultural production, can develop agro-processing industries, while the Midlands can expand iron, steel and engineering manufacturing around the emerging steel industry, led by Dinson Iron and Steel Company in Mvuma.
Manicaland has opportunities in timber processing, horticulture and tourism, while Matabeleland North can leverage Victoria Falls, mining and wildlife tourism.
Masvingo, with the towering Tokwe-Mukosi Dam in Ngundu, possesses significant potential in agro-industrial processing, mining and heritage tourism anchored by Great Zimbabwe.
Mashonaland Central can develop mining beneficiation alongside agricultural value chains, while Bulawayo, with its established industrial base, remains well positioned for manufacturing revival.
Matabeleland South can capitalise on cross-border trade through Beitbridge, while strengthening mining and livestock industries.
Mashonaland East continues to attract manufacturing and logistics investments due to its strategic proximity to Harare and Mozambique.
These provincial SEZs fit seamlessly into Zimbabwe’s devolution and decentralisation agenda.
One of the longstanding challenges facing the country has been the concentration of investment, employment opportunities and industrial activity in a few urban centres.
Devolution seeks to reverse this imbalance by ensuring that every province becomes an engine of economic growth in its own right.
SEZs provide precisely the institutional mechanism needed to achieve this objective.
When industries are established within provinces, they create employment where people live rather than forcing migration to major cities.
Local authorities end up collecting more revenue through expanded business activity, while small and medium enterprises emerge to supply larger industries.
Roads, electricity, water infrastructure and telecommunications improve as investment flows into the designated zones.
Skills development accelerates through vocational training linked to industrial demand.
President Mnangagwa’s challenge to companies to establish subsidiary manufacturing entities in provinces and districts perfectly complements this vision.
His call for stock-feed distribution depots across the country illustrates how industrial investment can directly support rural industrialisation while improving agricultural productivity.
Such investments generate multiplier effects – farmers gain easier access to inputs, transport costs decline, local suppliers benefit from increased demand, young people find employment closer to home and entire communities become participants in industrial development rather than spectators.
For Zimbabwe, SEZs should not be viewed merely as areas offering investment incentives, they are laboratories of industrial transformation.
They are centres where technology, skills, capital and entrepreneurship converge to create productive industries capable of competing regionally and globally.
Rather than waiting for industries to emerge spontaneously, SEZs are a deliberate strategy of creating designated investment zones supported by targeted infrastructure, streamlined regulation and investor incentives.
These zones represent a new philosophy of economic planning, one that encourages production instead of consumption, exports instead of imports and value addition instead of raw commodity dependence.
Ultimately, the success of Zimbabwe’s SEZs will not be measured solely by the number of factories established.
Their real success will be seen in stronger provincial economies, thriving local industries, increased exports, higher household incomes and improved standards of living across the country.
Every developed economy has experienced its industrial breakthrough – Britain had its industrial revolution, China had Shenzhen, Singapore built world-class industrial parks and Vietnam developed export processing zones.
Zimbabwe now has the opportunity to write its own industrial success story and the foundations are steadily being laid.
SEZs will become far more than designated investment areas, they will become the engines that power Zimbabwe’s next chapter of inclusive growth, balanced regional development and lasting national prosperity.
Lovemore Chikova is the Deputy Editor of The Sunday Mail with interests in development, strategic communication and the media
