Nqobile Bhebhe, Zimpapers Business Hub
ZIMBABWE is scaling up efforts to develop a structured pipeline of bankable investment projects to attract domestic and international capital, with the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) adopting a targeted approach to identifying and preparing opportunities aligned with national economic priorities.
ZIDA chief executive officer Mr Tafadzwa Chinamo said the agency was using three main channels to build its investment pipeline: investor expressions of interest, public-private partnerships (PPPs) and projects independently identified and prepared by the authority.
Speaking at the inaugural Financial Markets Stakeholder Summit in Bulawayo, he said the approach was intended to move beyond simply matching investors with opportunities towards developing credible projects capable of attracting financing.
Mr Chinamo said expressions of interest remained the most common entry point, with prospective local and international investors approaching ZIDA with proposals and investment plans.
The second channel involves PPPs, through which private capital can help public institutions deliver infrastructure, goods and services that they may struggle to provide using available resources.
He said public institutions should ideally identify their investment gaps and engage ZIDA to structure appropriate projects, although private investors could also approach local authorities and other public entities with proposals.
However, Mr Chinamo said the third approach was particularly important in building a more deliberate investment pipeline, as it involves ZIDA identifying opportunities based on the country’s development requirements and preparing them for potential investors.
“This is something that we generate ourselves. The way we do this is quite rigorous, in the sense that we always identify what the country requires in terms of policy documents such as NDS2 and so forth. From that, we identify areas where we believe investment can have an impact,” he said.
He said ZIDA had identified five priority sectors on which it was concentrating its project identification and preparation efforts, using a top-down approach informed by national development priorities.
The process involves identifying specific investment opportunities and undertaking project preparation to improve their credibility and readiness for financing.
Mr Chinamo said the ultimate objective was to develop projects to a stage where they could be supported by credible feasibility studies, reducing uncertainty for prospective investors and financiers.
The initiative comes as Zimbabwe seeks to mobilise more private capital for infrastructure development, industrial expansion and broader economic transformation under National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
A stronger pipeline of investment-ready projects is critical in connecting available domestic and international capital with productive opportunities, while improving investor confidence and accelerating implementation.
For capital markets, such projects also present opportunities to develop financing instruments that channel long-term institutional savings towards infrastructure and other productive sectors of the economy.
