‘Local investors must make full use of ZIDA’

THE Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency (ZIDA) says local investors must take advantage of its One-Stop Investment Services Centre, which makes investing procedures simple and cuts bureaucracy for the registration of new businesses.

“What we see mostly are foreign investors coming through ZIDA but it is also open for locals,” ZIDA head of general investment Mr Charangwa said in an interview yesterday.

“We are encouraging local investors to come through so that they can also enjoy incentives that come with ZIDA licenses and we will soon be rolling out awareness programs soon.”

The OSISC provides investment services ranging from investment analysis, company registration, tax registration, and clearance, licensing, connecting to all necessary utilities, investment promotions, public relations and after-care services.

The services were previously provided by different state agencies.

For instance, the joint ventures unity and public-private partnerships, previously administered in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development are now under ZIDA.

This has led to the reduction of the turnaround time for investing in the country. “As we roll out our awareness campaign, we would like to make ourselves more visible to locals.”

In the past two years, Zimbabwe has witnessed a significant surge in domestic investments despite the negative effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.

ZIDA said with the growing investment from local investors, the focus was now shifting towards improving the ease of doing business for local firms, a key enabler for higher foreign investment.

According to studies, high domestic private investment is a signal for high returns to capital, which attracts foreign investment.

Last year, foreign investment in Zimbabwe increased to US$91,4 million from US$40 million in 2020, according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. “We have seen a lot of local people partnering with local people in investing in manufacturing and services,” said Mr Charangwa.

IH Securities, in a report early this year said low foreign investment inflows in Zimbabwe in the last two years were partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as this affected investment flows globally.

The research firm expects aggregate foreign direct investment inflows into Zimbabwe to remain subdued low in 2022. However, based on 2021 observations, IH said foreign investments in the mining industry would increase.

“Despite a downward drift in foreign direct investment, capital injection from local investors has gained momentum in the past few years. We have witnessed an up-tick in corporate transactions and equity financing as companies expand via mergers and acquisitions as well as organically,” said IH Securities.