Online Reporter
Nelson Gahadza
Senior Business Reporter
Zimbabwe’s push to promote locally produced goods must be backed by a firm commitment to strengthening industrial value chains, capacitating domestic firms and unlocking patient capital from the financial sector, Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said.
Zimbabwe has implemented a range of policy, regulatory and economic initiatives aimed at promoting local consumption, reducing import reliance and fostering industrial growth.
Among them, the Government has gazetted new regulations requiring processors to source at least 40 percent of their annual grain and oilseed needs locally starting April 1, 2026, with this requirement increasing to 100 percent by April 2028.
Incentives have also been provided through the industrialisation fund and there is an increased focus on using local goods in Government procurement.
Stricter controls, including the restriction of imports and the enforcement of local value addition, are in place to ensure raw materials are processed locally.
Another key policy also entails the prioritisation of locally produced goods and services in government procurement, ensuring that public projects support local manufacturers.
Addressing stakeholders at the Buy Zimbabwe, Buy Local Conference on Friday, Adv Mudenda stressed that the call to buy local would only yield meaningful economic transformation if industry is adequately supported to produce competitive, high-quality goods at scale.
He said retooling Zimbabwean industries was critical and could be accelerated through strategies such as reverse engineering, an approach successfully adopted by countries like Japan and China to build robust manufacturing bases and improve product quality.
“The imperative to buy local products must therefore be accompanied by an equally resolute commitment to capacitate Zimbabwean industry. Without production capacity, the buy local agenda cannot be sustained,” he said.
Adv Mudenda criticised the country’s banking sector, accusing it of failing to provide long-term, patient capital required by the industry to retool and expand.
“Banks in Zimbabwe are not prepared to give business patient capitalisation as most of them are headquartered outside Zimbabwe and take policy directives from external jurisdictions, with little regard to our domestic political economy,” he said.
He noted historical interventions in other economies, such as the United States’ 1933 banking reforms, which required banks to be domestically anchored and aligned with national economic interests, supported by Government guarantees for long-term industrial financing.
According to Adv Mudenda, the absence of patient capital has constrained Zimbabwean firms’ ability to modernise operations, limiting their competitiveness against imports.
Beyond financing, Adv Mudenda urged businesses to make greater use of constitutional provisions that allow them to influence legislation affecting their operations.
He highlighted Section 149 of the Constitution, which grants citizens and organisations the right to petition Parliament to enact, amend or repeal laws.
“The right to petition Parliament is a critical avenue for democratic participation that remains underutilised,” he said. “Businesses must use their corporate lawyers to actively shape laws that create a conducive business environment.”
Adv Mudenda said there was a misconception that Parliament exists solely for legislators, when in fact it is a public institution that industry can leverage to drive policy reforms.
“The retail and manufacturing sectors can and should petition Parliament on issues affecting their operations, particularly the promotion of locally produced goods,” he said.
He also called for a coordinated approach across the value chain, urging manufacturers, retailers and consumers to play their respective roles in advancing the buy local agenda.
Manufacturers, he said, must commit to producing high-quality goods and price them competitively, while retailers should prioritise shelf space for local products and adopt merchandising strategies that balance patriotism with profitability.
Consumers, on the other hand, were urged to make deliberate purchasing decisions that support the domestic industry.
“Every purchasing decision has economic consequences,” Adv Mudenda said, adding that choosing local products supports jobs, industry and national growth.
The Government, he added, must lead by example through procurement policies that prioritise local goods, while also streamlining regulations and aligning resources to support industrial development.
Meanwhile, Industry and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu reiterated the importance of the buy local initiative in driving economic transformation.
In remarks delivered on his behalf by permanent secretary in the ministry Dr Thomas Utete, Minister Ndlovu said the agenda challenges Zimbabweans to rethink their role in the economy, not just as producers or consumers, but as active participants in national development.
“Every dollar spent on a local product sustains Zimbabwean jobs, supports domestic industries, strengthens value chains and retains wealth within our economy.
“Conversely, every unnecessary import represents exported jobs, exported value and missed industrial opportunities,” he said.
He noted that Zimbabwe has made notable progress in repositioning its economy towards inclusive growth, with manufacturing playing a central role.
Key value chains such as agro-processing, iron and steel, fertiliser production, pharmaceuticals and mineral beneficiation are driving this transformation by enhancing local value addition and reducing reliance on imports.
Minister Ndlovu said growth in manufactured exports signals a gradual shift towards a more value-driven industrial economy, while rural industrialisation initiatives under the Devolution Agenda are unlocking local potential and fostering inclusive development.
“These gains will be consolidated under the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy (ZNIDP) 2, alongside reforms to improve the ease of doing business and strengthen private sector confidence,” he said.
He added that the government remains committed to promoting local production for domestic consumption while positioning Zimbabwean goods to compete regionally and globally, in line with the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
Buy Zimbabwe chairman Mr Munyaradzi Hwengwere said the success of the buy local campaign depends on collective action across all sectors of the economy.
He said while policy support is critical, industry must also rise to the challenge by improving standards, consistency and competitiveness.
“The buy local agenda is not just a campaign, but a national economic strategy that requires alignment across producers, retailers, financiers and consumers,” he said.
He added that strengthening value chains and ensuring a reliable supply of quality products will be key to sustaining consumer confidence in local goods.
