Online Reporter
Victoria Ruzvidzo-Editor’s Brief
If someone had woken up from a deep slumber and told of a dream about Zimbabwe achieving what it has today to his friends and family, they would dismiss him for hallucinating and proffering wild imagination without a semblance of reality.
He would be the laughing stock for days, weeks and even months to come. He would be dismissed for having blind-optimism or being so desperate he had lost touch with reality.
All that would be perfectly understandable given where we are coming from as a country. But the story is completely different now.
Zimbabwe is on a growth trajectory that has pleasantly surprised even the worst pessimist in our midst. Even die-hard critics now find themselves very lonely in their rantings.
When the Bretton Woods institutions – the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank give a great reviews about a country then you know this is for real. These institutions always say it like it is. They take no prisoners.
When President Mnangagwa spoke of Vision 2030 a few years ago, some believed him half-heartedly, while others dismissed it as an outright impossibility. But we have witnessed in recent years, months and weeks that he had foresight and knew what he was talking about.
Indeed the vision of an upper middle income economic status is within reach, with three years to go to 2030 and some goals have already been exceeded. The President had a vision and was always confident that it would be achieved and we are all smiling as this rapidly transforms into reality.
Indeed there are moments in a nation’s history when the story stops being only about survival and becomes, unmistakably, about revival and stability. This is the story that is unfolding in Zimbabwe. After years of challenges such as high uncertainty, high inflation rates, constrained investment, and the heavy drag of external pressures —Zimbabwe today is demonstrating what policy consistency, decisive Government action, and national determination can achieve.
This is not to deny that challenges remain. Every serious economist will remind you that recovery is rarely linear. Yet it is precisely when an economy is still imperfect—when risks are still real—that progress becomes most meaningful.
And Zimbabwe’s progress, in recent years and months, is becoming harder to ignore. It is visible in macroeconomic direction, in reforms that are drawing structured support from international partners, and in renewed business confidence.
Zimbabwe is in vogue. What makes this country’s renaissance particularly striking is that it is not just empty words, but is fully-backed by action. It is being pursued through concrete reforms and through a pattern of engagement with global institutions that matter: the IMF, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank (AfDB). Even those critics that never see anything good about this country have had to admit that we are on the right path.
Herewith a few of the milestones achieved so far:
Growth remained strong in 2025 at 8,3 percent and continued into early 2026, supported by improved agricultural production, robust mining activity, and favourable gold prices as stated by the International Monetary Fund.
On its part the World Bank grew from 1.7 percent in 2024 to 7,5 percent in 2025, led by rebounds in agriculture and higher global mining prices.
The African Development Bank said GDP growth rose to an estimated 7,6 percent in 2025 from 1,7 percent in 2024, driven by a 24 percent expansion in agriculture, plus 7,3 percent mining growth on lithium, gold and platinum.
Disinflation and currency stability
Annual inflation has gone down to single digit levels, something previously unheard of. The latest figures showed that it is now 2,9 percent in August 2026 from 3,2 percent in July 2026. This was aided by a stable foreign exchange rate and tight monetary conditions as also observed by the IMF. Fiscal deficit narrowed from 1,3 percent of GDP in 2024 to 0,5 percent in 2025. The current account surplus rose to 4,1 percent of GDP, supported by remittances, lower imports, and mineral exports, the AfDB.
IMF Staff-Monitored Programme (a re-engagement anchor) was approved in March 2026; with programme implementation being described as strong. All quantitative targets and structural benchmarks met were met.
Debt-arrears clearance / creditor re-engagement
AfDB recently approved a $4 million grant for the Zimbabwe Arrears Clearance Dialogue Enhancement Project (ZACDEP), running 2026–2029, building on the Chissano-led Structured Dialogue Platform. Clearing arrears is the gateway to unlocking the development financing the country urgently needs — said the AfDB Zimbabwe country manager Eyerusalem Fasika.
New AfDB president Sidi Ould Tah has personally taken up championing the process, alongside his predecessor Adesina’s earlier work.
Lithium sector boom
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube told the mid-year budget review that lithium product exports hit $782 million in H1 2026, up from $237m in H1 2025 — a 230 percent jump — now Zimbabwe’s third-largest export earner behind gold and PGMs. Zimbabwe’s first lithium sulphate plant (Arcadia), moving the country up the battery-materials value chain; a concentrate-export ban takes effect January 2027 to force local beneficiation
World Bank fragility delisting — the big one
On July 1, 2026 the World Bank removed Zimbabwe from its list of fragile and conflict-affected states, citing 8,3 percent growth, 2,9 percent inflation, and stronger institutions Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube called it a direct validation of the country’s ongoing economic turnaround, governance, and institutional reforms.
The Bank split its old FCS list into a Public FCV List (political violence) and an Institutional Fragility List (CPIA governance score); Zimbabwe now clears both thresholds.
Agriculture’s remarkable recovery
In wheat, Zimbabwe achieved 100 percent self-sufficiency in 2023, 2024 and in 2025 with a harvest of 375 000 tonnes.
Under maize, the country experienced a strong recovery from the 2024 drought to produce 2,3 million tonnes in 2025, restoring the Strategic Grain Reserve. Agricultural exports now exceed to US$2,1 billion. Recently, the closure of the 2025/2026 tobacco marketing season, was marked with results that should make the nation proud. Our country produced over 358 million kilogrammes of tobacco, valued at over US$892 million. This is our second highest crop harvest on record, while tobacco remains our number one agriculture export earner, employing over 500 000 people across the value chain.
Zimbabwe’s story is not simply about short-term gains—it is about confidence-building reforms that make medium to long term development more plausible. Indeed economic renaissance is not only about growth rates; it is about the environment that enables growth — predictable policy, reduced volatility, and improved planning horizons for firms and households. The World Bank’s reporting on stabilisation indicators supports the idea that the direction is improving. We commend the Government for such achievements because every problem has vanished, but because the nation has taken more deliberate steps towards achieving economic growth and sustainable prosperity.
A renaissance requires more than technocratic decisions; it requires political focus and sustained leadership. President Mnangagwa has repeatedly framed national priorities around economic transformation and the acceleration of policies aimed at long-term development goals.
When international partners begin to acknowledge progress while advising on next-steps, it is evidently a sign that the country is doing something right. Zimbabwe’s economic renaissance also matters beyond national borders. It contributes to regional stability. It strengthens the credibility of Africa’s development pathways. It demonstrates that countries can rebuild even after long economic strain.
Indeed Zimbabwe deserves commendation for the economic renaissance taking shape. The IMF’s insistence on stability and restructuring pathways, the World Bank’s attention to measurable stabilisation indicators and structural reform potential, and the AfDB’s engagement around transformation and urgent debt/arrears resolution all point to the same conclusion: Zimbabwe is moving, and this is being recognised.
But this is not the end goal. It is fuel to take us further.
We have every reason to be proud of what we have achieved as a country but we must remain focused and even more determined to achieve much more. Indeed better days lie ahead for this teapot-shaped country and its 16 million plus people.
Let’s all remain more resolute and determined to achieve better. This, as we have noticed, does not come from wishful thinking. It demands hardwork.
All cylinders must be firing. The women, the youth and everyone must hold their part as this demands all hands on deck.
Manufacturing, tourism, mining, agriculture and all sectors must do their utmost to ensure we sustain this growth.
The President has been urging us on and he leads from the front traversing the length and breath of this country launching projects and programmes to take Zimbabwe forward.
He engages potential investors and other multilateral and bilateral partners as we move into top gear.
The results of such commitment and hunger to achieve are there for all to see.
Let’s rally behind him as we make the right decisions and the right sacrifices day in- day out.
The five percent growth expected this year can be easily surpassed if we collectively so desire.
Fears of an El Nino by any name can be overcome and the effects mitigated if we make the right decisions and give our all.
Weather is just but a factor which can be dealt with if all cylinders are firing.
We can do it! Let’s show the world that indeed we are made of sterner stuff.
In God I trust!
X handle: @VictoriaRuzvid2; Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; WhatsApp number: 0772 129 972.
