Online Reporter
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
ECONOMIST and BancABC Zimbabwe microfinance subsidiary, BancEasy, managing director, Mr James Wadi, has commended the strong growth of Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector and suggested initiatives to unlock the sector’s full potential.
Delivering a presentation at the Zimpapers and Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries organised 2026 post-budget breakfast meeting in Harare this morning, Mr Wadi noted the sector’s solid foundation and as yet unrealised potential.
The manufacturing sector, along with agriculture, mining, wholesale and retail trading and electricity generation, are expected to anchor Zimbabwe’s projected 5 percent growth in 2026.
“Manufacturing is now 15 percent of GDP,” he stated, while identifying a clear target for improvement.
“We should be doing at least a million dollars in exports as a start. Our exports of manufactured goods are US$431 000, hence we need to do double in terms of our export performance.”
Analysing the fiscal landscape, Mr Wadi highlighted significant revenue growth but emphasised the need for continued expenditure management.
“It’s one of those key areas to say ‘How best we will do it’,” Mr Wadi, a renowned economist in Zimbabwe, said.
A substantial part of his presentation focused on ways to harness Zimbabwe’s financial capacity to promote business growth. Drawing comparisons with regional peers, Zambia and Mozambique, Mr Wadi illustrated the opportunity for the banking sector.
“Given the size of our GDP, there is a need for us to say, how do we align ourselves?” he posited.
He proposed a more robust financial system, stating, “In my view, preferably at a size of US$53 billion, our deposit base should be around US$20 billion. If our credit is about US$9 billion, it means more businesses can access that credit.”
Mr Wadi said to sustain strong economic growth, it was critical to create appropriate conditions for businesses to have easy access to credit.
He expressed confidence that strategic adjustments could attract capital into the formal system.
“I believe there is a need to realign so that our deposit base is able to attract the informal deposits that are circulating outside the formal economy,” he said, outlining a collaborative path forward.
“Whatever alignment that we need to look at, it should also incentivise the growth of those deposits as well as the growth of credit.”
He concluded on a positive note, acknowledging progress while identifying a clear roadmap.
“Inasmuch as we are talking about revenue, there’s also so much pressure from an expenditure perspective,” Mr Wadi noted, urging for focused intervention.
