Business Reporter
Zimbabwe’s corporate landscape is navigating a challenging era, marked by a wave of high-profile business rescue filings, including retail giants like OK Zimbabwe and agricultural anchors such as Cottco.
According to Mr Zondi Kumwenda, a veteran chartered accountant and audit and advisory partner at Crowe Zimbabwe Chartered Accountants, growing business rescue filings come as formal retail and manufacturing entities face growing pressure from informalisation and soaring imports.
Mr Kumwenda said this in his presentation titled “Corporate Rescue in Zimbabwe: Lifeline or Life Support”, delivered at the three-day Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Strategic Intelligence Forum, organised in partnership with Zimpapers, which ended on Friday.
The strategic intelligence forum brought together senior Government officials, chief executives, board members, entrepreneurs, regulators, development partners and sustainability practitioners, among others.
However, beneath the external shocks lies a sobering truth: “Most collapses are governance failures before they are cash failures: the macro shock is the trigger, but an alert board sees it coming.”
When examining why companies spiral into failure, Mr Kumwenda pointed to a toxic blend of internal governance blind spots and relentless macroeconomic friction.
He said many distressed firms suffer from weak or captive boards, dominant founders who operate without challenge, unchecked strategy drift and a lack of proper succession planning.
