Herald Correspondent
GOVERNMENT has urged Zimbabweans living abroad to channel remittances into productive investment, enterprise development and job creation as it seeks to harness diaspora capital, skills, technology and international networks to accelerate economic transformation.
The call was made at the recently concluded UK-Zimbabwe Business Expo and Property Show 2026 in Birmingham, organised by the Zimbabweans in Diaspora Organisation (ZIDO) in partnership with the Government.
Addressing delegates, Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Senator Monica Mutsvangwa said the diaspora’s contribution should increasingly extend beyond household support to enterprise development, technology transfer and market access.
Zimbabwe received an estimated US$2.45 billion in diaspora remittances in 2025, including about US$709.6 million from the United Kingdom, while the Government expects total remittances to reach about US$2.8 billion this year.
“Diaspora remittances are no longer just a source of foreign currency for household consumption. They must increasingly become a source of productive capital, enterprise development, technology transfer and market access,” she said.
Sen Mutsvangwa said the Government’s responsibility was to ensure that the growing financial flows were channelled into productive sectors.
“Our responsibility as Government is to create the right mechanisms, policies and platforms to ensure that these financial flows are transformed into sustainable investments that create jobs, expand production and support the attainment of the objectives of NDS2,” she said.
She said investment opportunities existed in agriculture, mining and mineral beneficiation, manufacturing, tourism, construction, ICT, energy, transport and logistics, and financial services.
“In agriculture, the opportunities are vast, ranging from horticulture, blueberries, maize and soya to dairy, livestock, poultry, aquaculture, irrigation, mechanisation, cold storage and agro-processing,” she said.
Sen Mutsvangwa said the mining sector also offered opportunities beyond extraction, particularly in beneficiation and the provision of equipment and technical services.
“Let me emphasise that our mining sector is not only about extraction. We are looking for investors in mineral beneficiation, gold processing, lithium value addition, chrome and ferrochrome production, gemstone cutting and polishing, mineral recovery, as well as the supply of mining equipment and technical services,” she said.
Manufacturing, she said, offered another significant opportunity, with capacity utilisation standing at 61.2 percent in the second quarter of 2026.
“Our estimated US$3 billion import bill for products that can potentially be manufactured locally is a clear indication of the opportunities available for import substitution, local production and value addition,” she said.
The Minister also urged diaspora investors to look beyond Zimbabwe’s borders and position their businesses to benefit from regional and continental markets.
“We encourage our diaspora investors to think beyond Zimbabwe’s borders and position their businesses to take advantage of the opportunities presented by African continental and regional integration,” she said.
The African Continental Free Trade Area provides access to a potential market of more than 1.3 billion people, while COMESA has 21 member states and a market of more than 600 million people.
ZIDO chairman Mr Blessed Kapesa said the diaspora should be viewed as a strategic economic constituency with the capacity to contribute capital, expertise and international business networks to Zimbabwe’s development.
“The diaspora is not just a community of Zimbabweans living outside the country. We regard the diaspora as Zimbabwe’s 11th province because of the economic, intellectual, professional and entrepreneurial resources that our people abroad possess,” he said.
Mr Kapesa said the Birmingham expo was designed to strengthen the connection between Zimbabweans abroad, the Government and the domestic private sector.
“This platform is important because it creates a direct bridge between Government, Zimbabwean businesses and our investors abroad. It allows our people to see the opportunities available at home and, importantly, to participate in those opportunities,” he said.
He said the diaspora’s contribution should increasingly be measured by the businesses established, jobs created, skills transferred and markets opened for Zimbabwean products.
“We want to move from a situation where the diaspora is seen mainly as a source of remittances to one where it is recognised as a partner in production, investment and national development,” Mr Kapesa said.
He said ZIDO would continue working with the Government and the private sector to create platforms that make it easier for Zimbabweans abroad to invest and establish partnerships at home.
The Birmingham engagement reflects the Government’s growing emphasis on transforming the diaspora from a source of household support into a strategic partner in investment, production, skills transfer and access to international markets.
