Online Reporter
Business Reporter
NATIONAL Venture Capital Company Zimbabwe (NVCCZ) has started disbursing ZiG100 million under its Industrial Development Fund to key manufacturers to facilitate retooling and operations expansions.
The ministry of Industry and Commerce established the fund to provide affordable “patient capital” to strategic industries, driving value addition, import substitution, and job creation.
This followed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to ensure that Treasury allocations will go directly to support high-value chains within the manufacturing sector.
The decision to create the IDF was prompted by the fact that the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which used to perform a similar role, is now under the control of the Mutapa Investment Fund.
Both ministries agreed that a dedicated fund, managed directly, would be the most effective way to channel resources in selected industries of national importance.
In a joint statement, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and NVCCZ said the funds would strategically prioritise projects that boost domestic value chains and are likely to generate innovative solutions critical to the country’s industrialisation.
Funding can be used for a variety of essential needs, including the procurement of modern machinery, infrastructure expansion and development, covering operational working capital requirements, and supporting crucial research and development initiatives. The initiative is a direct response to the Government’s push for increased local production and reduced reliance on imports.
The Government, taking advantage of the strong links between its manufacturing and agricultural sectors, is placing a special emphasis on developing key value chains.
Special focus is being placed on low-hanging fruit for a structurally transforming economy.
These include the fertiliser, soya, cotton, dairy, sugar, leather, pharmaceutical, bus and truck, engineering iron and steel, and plastic waste value chains.
Peter Tanyanyiwa