Online Reporter
Getrude Chigerwe
Zimbabwe’s journey towards an upper-middle-income economy by 2030 will be shaped not only by major infrastructure projects and industrial expansion, but also by ordinary women quietly transforming their lives through entrepreneurship.
For 32-year-old clothing retailer Ms Tsitsi Dzoro, success is measured not in grand declarations, but in the confidence of opening her shop every morning, welcoming customers and knowing that her business has a genuine opportunity to grow.
Operating from the newly opened X-Mart Shopping Complex in Waterfalls, Harare, Ms Dzoro represents thousands of Zimbabwean women who are turning small enterprises into engines of household income, employment and community development.
Her story reflects a broader national narrative in which women are increasingly driving inclusive economic growth despite longstanding challenges that include limited access to finance, formal markets, secure trading spaces and business development support.
For Ms Dzoro, securing trading space at the complex marked a turning point.
“The location has been good for business because customers can easily access the complex and many people are passing through every day,” she said in a recent interview.
Unlike many informal trading spaces where women often contend with insecurity and uncertainty, she says the organised environment has allowed her to concentrate on what matters most—serving customers and expanding her business.
“Here we feel safe and secure. There is security on site, and we don’t have to worry about gender-based violence or dealing with violent or abusive men while trying to run our businesses. That peace of mind allows me to focus on serving my customers and growing my business,” she said.
For her, the shopping complex represents more than rented retail space. It offers dignity, stability and the confidence to plan for tomorrow.
Her experience mirrors that of many female entrepreneurs operating from X-Mart Shopping Complex, where private-sector investment is creating opportunities for small businesses to formalise, expand and reach wider markets.
This comes as President Mnangagwa has been consistent in his call for entrepreneurs to formalise and actively contribute to collective prosperity.
Speaking at the inaugural National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperatives Indaba in the capital recently, the President stressed that formalisation remains a critical national priority.
“Hence, Government has embarked on a comprehensive regulatory reform programme aimed at easing the cost of doing business and slashing compliance burdens,” he said.
Statistics show that SMEs contribute over 60 percent of gross domestic product and provide employment to millions of citizens.
Developed by Pinnacle Property Holdings, X-Mart Shopping Complex sits along the busy corridor linking Simon Mazorodze Road and Seke Road, positioning businesses within reach of thousands of residents, commuters and motorists each day.
Housing about 70 retail outlets, including regional brands, restaurants, butcheries, liquor outlets, clothing stores, poultry suppliers and other small enterprises, the complex has become more than a shopping destination. It is increasingly serving as a platform for enterprise development, particularly for women seeking organised and secure trading spaces.
Approximately one-third of the outlets are owned or operated by women, reflecting the growing contribution of female entrepreneurs to Zimbabwe’s retail economy.
While Ms Dzoro’s story illustrates how secure trading space can transform a small retail business, entrepreneur Ms Sisa Mpofu demonstrates how the same environment can support expansion and job creation.
Ms Mpofu is the founder and director of Townrun Procentre, an agro-veterinary enterprise specialising in poultry production and an authorised distributor of Irvine’s Zimbabwe products.
Since opening her first outlet, she said the business has experienced rapid growth driven by the complex’s strategic location and organised trading environment.
“Choosing this strategic commercial hub allowed the business to immediately capture market share, successfully establish its brand presence and serve its growing clientele with efficiency and ease from day one,” she said.
Her business has since expanded to a second outlet in Retreat, creating new jobs and improving access to poultry inputs for farmers. The company recently introduced a door-to-door feed delivery service to ease transport challenges for customers, particularly women and elderly farmers.
“The operational capability and ease of doing business here have driven visible revenue growth for us. The improving cash flows have allowed us to fund the second outlet and procure a delivery vehicle,” Ms Mpofu said.
“The stability provided by the facility promotes growth, ensures sustainability of our business and a positive financial future for my family and future generations.”
The complex aligns with national and global development priorities, including Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality, Sustainable Development Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth, Sustainable Development
Goal 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure, and Sustainable Development Goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities.
It also speaks to Zimbabwe’s broader policy direction under Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2, where women, youths and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are increasingly recognised as drivers of inclusive economic transformation.
Ms Dzoro and Ms Mpofu’s experiences reflect a broader national reality. Across Zimbabwe, women continue to anchor the micro, small and medium enterprises sector, with strong participation in retail trade, food processing, agriculture, fashion, manufacturing and cross-border commerce.
Their businesses support household incomes, create employment and keep local economies active, making women’s enterprise development central to inclusive growth. However, female entrepreneurs continue to face structural barriers that prevent many enterprises from moving beyond survivalist operations.
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly 13 million women-owned formal and informal SMEs, yet many female-led businesses still struggle to access long-term finance, collateral-based loans, formal markets, technology and mentorship.
Access to finance remains one of the biggest obstacles. Many women lack collateral, such as title deeds, operate informally or have limited credit histories, making it difficult to obtain affordable loans for expansion.
To address this, the Government established the Zimbabwe Women Microfinance Bank in 2018 to improve women’s financial inclusion through affordable, women-centred financial products, while the Ministry of Women Affairs,
Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development continues to promote entrepreneurship, financial literacy, market access and enterprise formalisation.
Zimbabwe’s assumption of the Comesa Chairmanship later this year presents an opportunity to champion policies that strengthen women-owned enterprises and enhance regional trade.
Women already constitute a significant share of informal cross-border traders in Eastern and Southern Africa.
Zimbabwe’s leadership is expected to reinforce initiatives that simplify trade processes, improve market access and increase women’s participation in regional value chains.
For female entrepreneurs, such regional platforms present opportunities to look beyond local markets and position their enterprises for broader growth. Yet infrastructure alone is not enough. Women-led businesses also need affordable finance, digital skills, mentorship, market linkages and continued training if they are to scale up, formalise and participate more competitively in regional value chains.
The Waterfalls example shows that commercial infrastructure can support inclusive development when it enables women and small businesses to access safer, more visible and better organised markets.
In this sense, the shopping complex is not the main story; it is the platform through which female entrepreneurs are gaining the conditions they need to build resilient enterprises.
For women like Ms Dzoro and Ms Mpofu, X-Mart represents more than a collection of shops. It is a space where ambition is being matched with opportunity, where women can trade with greater confidence, serve growing customer bases and take practical steps towards business expansion.
As Zimbabwe strengthens women’s participation in the economy, the lesson from such modern-day infrastructure is clear: empowering female entrepreneurs requires more than policy commitments. It requires accessible finance, supportive markets, safe business environments, skills development and private-sector partnerships that turn development goals into everyday opportunities.
When women-owned enterprises grow, they strengthen families, create jobs, expand local economies and contribute to sustainable national development.
