As Nigerian billionaire Mr Aliko Dangote visits Zimbabwe to finalise details of a major US$1 billion investment deal in cement manufacturing, coal mining and power generation, this signals a further step in the right direction for the economy.
President Mnangagwa, together with several Cabinet ministers and officials, hosted Mr Dangote at State House in Harare yesterday.
The visit indicates that President Mnangagwa’s leadership and policies are yielding positive results for the country as it continues to emerge from the challenges and shadows of the First Republic to a new era of growth, albeit from a low base and amid a debt overhang, which is a drag on the economy.
The Second Republic — through Vision 2030 — has been pulling out all the stops with its Zimbabwe is “open for business” mantra to attract significant investment and accelerate the process to fix the country — from infrastructure, energy to mining projects, and new investments like the Dangote deal, things have been looking up.
While the Dangote package is the most prominent investment in the US$1 billion range, other significant, though generally smaller, investments have been reported in manufacturing and infrastructure sectors of late.
For instance, Zimbabwe has reportedly unlocked over US$1 billion in housing finance under the national development strategy, surpassing initial projections and attracting local and regional capital into the housing and infrastructure sectors.
The broader manufacturing sector has attracted approximately US$1,4 billion in new investments overall, including a planned US$1 billion investment in the cement sector in Magunje.
There is also a US$285 million investment plan for new plants (snacks, juice, and beer brewing).
Notable business expansions entail investments by Huaxin Cement, Shuntai Investments and others.
The Dinson Iron and Steel Company’s Manhize project has become a major investment showcase.
A unit of China’s Tsingshan Holding Group recently commenced steel production at Dinson Iron and Steel Company plant in Manhize, which is now becoming a major regional player employing over 2 000 workers.
Recent major investments in Zimbabwe (2024-2025) have primarily focused on the energy, mining, and manufacturing sectors, with significant involvement from foreign investors, especially from China.
In the energy sector, US$1,5 billion was invested through a Chinese funded project in the Hwange Units 7 and 8 power plants, adding 600MW to Zimbabwe’s national grid.
There are also plans for the Batoka Gorge HydroElectric Scheme, a multi-billion-dollar project.
Chinese mining companies, including a joint venture between Huayou and Tsingshan, are heavily investing in lithium mines and processing plants, notably at Sandawana, with a projected investment of US$250 to US$300 million.
These investments have made Zimbabwe a key player in the global lithium market.
Mining companies expect over US$600 million in capital expenditure in 2025, primarily in gold, PGM, and other mineral projects.
Further, Zimbabwe is on the verge of commercial gas production following the discovery of gas reserves in the Cabora Bassa basin by Invictus Energy, with plans to develop a gas-to-power project.
This is not a sunshine narrative, but reality.
Despite numerous challenges facing the country, after serious macroeconomic volatility in recent decades, Zimbabwe is now experiencing a degree of stability, thanks to tighter fiscal and monetary policies.
The halting of quasi-fiscal operations and monetary financing by the central bank have helped significantly reduce inflation and exchange rate pressures.
Growth has recovered as extreme weather shocks subsided, and terms-of-trade significantly improved.
As a result, Zimbabwe’s economic growth is projected at 6 percent for 2025, a major rebound from 1,7 percent in 2024, driven by improved agricultural output, record gold prices, and strong remittance inflows.
The potential is immense.
Key investment opportunities are in mining, agriculture, manufacturing, and energy sectors, supported by recent macroeconomic stability.
In its recent Article IV consultation report last month, the International Monetary Fund said: “GDP growth is expected to rebound to 6 percent this year and the current account surplus to widen, both driven by a good agricultural season, record-high gold prices, and sustained remittances inflows.
“The projections assume that the RBZ (Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe) remains committed to stabilising the ZiG and keeping inflation relatively low, while building up reserves from continued current account surpluses and gold royalties remitted to the RBZ.
“But, without a decisive fiscal adjustment, growth is expected to slow to 3,5 percent in the medium-term, as confidence in the durability of macroeconomic stability remains low, and fiscal financing needs crowd out private sector credit and investment, and domestic arrears continue to build up. Debt dynamics remain unsustainable.”
Zimbabwe’s strategic shift towards targeted investment engagement is yielding substantial results, transforming the nation into a focused destination for both regional and global capital.
A decade ago, the country was seen primarily as a market of potential; today, it is steadily being recognised as a market of performance and delivery.
This positive momentum was strikingly confirmed by the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency, which in its Quarter Three 2025 report announced the issuance of 203 new investment licences carrying a combined projected value of US$3.26 billion.
In context, that figure surpasses the total foreign direct investment inflows recorded for all of 2023, which stood at roughly US$588 million.
It also brings Zimbabwe’s cumulative licenced investments for the first nine months of 2025 to levels not seen in years.
For policymakers, this is more than a statistical achievement.
It is the clearest sign that Zimbabwe’s deliberate and disciplined investment strategy anchored on targeted sectoral engagement, institutional reforms, and regional collaboration, is bearing fruit.
Bard Santner Markets chief executive Mr Senziwani Sikhosana, a banker by profession, says business reforms and ease of doing business changes are helping to attract investment.
Mr Sikhosana, who with Bard Santner executives such as Mr Tatenda Hungwe and Ms Lucia Chingwaru, and journalist-turned-investment advisor Josephine Mahachi, facilitated the Dangote deal, describes this shift as “the clearest evidence that deliberate policy reform pays off.”
He says the new approach of focusing on high-value, capital-intensive and technology-rich sectors is the key for ensuring that FDI translates into tangible and sustainable economic growth.
“By deliberately directing foreign capital towards value-added industries such as lithium processing, energy transition minerals, agriculture beneficiation, and ICT infrastructure,” Mr Sikhosana notes, “the government ensures that every dollar invested multiplies into jobs, exports, and innovation.”
Mr Sikhosana said co-operation between the State and the private sector was “absolutely vital” to sustaining investor confidence.
“When the private sector embraces and moves in unison with national policy,” he explains, “it creates an environment of trust, confidence, consistency and certainty that reassures investors that Zimbabwe is open for business — not as a slogan, but as a lived reality.”
Following targeted reforms and improvement in the ease of doing business, as well as macroeconomic stability and a slowdown in 2024 due to drought, Zimbabwe’s economy is set for a strong recovery.
However, as the IMF has noted, challenges remain from fiscal financing pressures with very limited access to official external financing and accumulation of domestic arrears, low monetary policy credibility, a highly dollarised monetary system, low reserve buffers, a persistent gap between the official and parallel exchange rates, and economic governance vulnerabilities.
High public debt and fiscal risks remain, potentially hindering medium-term growth and external financing.
The IMF staff stressed the importance of reinforcing fiscal discipline in the 2026 budget by aligning expenditure with revenue and sustainable financing sources.
Its recommendations include strengthening expenditure management and implementing reforms to address fiscal gaps.
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries has called for further disinflation strategies to address pricing and inflation.
Progress Nyahuma is Bard Santner Markets Inc Head of Marketing
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