Businesses urged to exploit links with US investors
LOCAL businesses have been urged to take full advantage of the ongoing Zimbabwe – US Business Forum to build mutually beneficial trade and investment relationships.
Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni said this while officiating at the business forum earlier this week.
The event, which was organised by the CEO Africa Roundtable in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) and the Zimbabwean Embassy in Washington, aims to foster trade, investment, economic cooperation, and cultural exchange between the two countries.
The US business mission, led by the Atlanta Black Chambers (ABC) is part of a three-nation trade and investment scouting mission covering South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.
The forum is anticipated to culminate in meaningful Memoranda of Understanding between ABC and the Zimbabwean companies and business associations.
According to the United Nations Comtrade database on international trade, Zimbabwe's trade with the US remains low, but exports to North America to US$120 million in 2023 from US$12, 1 million in 2022 and US$700 000 in 2020. US exports to Zimbabwe closed 2023 US$37,66 million in 2023.
Zimbabwe has vast economic potential, given its array of investment projects that require a capital injection to realise their full potential.
The country presents opportunities in key economic sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and mining. While addressing delegates at the event, Minister Nyoni said the engagement dovetailed into the President’s mantra that Zimbabwe was ‘Open for Business’.
He pointed out that this presented the perfect opportunity to lure American investors into Zimbabwe’s diverse economic sectors like housing and tourism infrastructure development projects. She also said the engagement was expected to showcase Zimbabwe as a safe and attractive tourism destination hosting one of the seven wonders of the world, beautiful flora and fauna.
“Allow me to applaud the Atlanta Black Chambers for choosing to prioritise Zimbabwe as the investment destination of choice. It is our sincere hope that ABC could utilise its influence to mobilise affordable capital for such investment projects.
“Our exports remain very low and undiversified and they do not reflect the potential of both economies. It is only through these partnerships with ABC that we can get to the desired operational scale,” said Minister Nyoni.
Accompanying the ABC delegation is IMPI, a group of US-based Zimbabwean scientists keen to form a consortium for the construction of a Biotechnology City in Zimbabwe.
“We applaud IMPI for their decision to be part of this delegation, showing that our own Diasporas have confidence in the country’s investment climate, which is key for attracting broader USA Foreign Direct Investment into Zimbabwe.”
Facilitated by Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the US, Tadeous Chifamba, the mission also intends to consolidate and expand Zimbabwe’s export market to the USA.
ABC’s Global Opportunity Committee chairman Mr Ricardo Berris said the mission was determined to come out with positive outcomes from the ongoing engagements.
“We are committed to fostering international business relationships and catalysing economic growth for black enterprises, exploring collaborative ventures with Zimbabwe, and unlocking new avenues for business expansion,” said Mr Berries.
ZIDA chairman Mr Busisa Moyo said the agency was dedicated to driving investment into Zimbabwe playing a critical role in economic growth and sustainable development of the country.
“We are here to join hands with those interested in investing and hold hands with those wishing to partner with Zimbabwe in building our diverse endowment of sectors and building transformational strategies for investment,” said Mr Moyo. CZI chief executive officer Sekai Kuvarika said her organisation was prepared to assist these investors and identify existing opportunities in various sectors of the economy, particularly with a bias on the manufacturing sector.
“We have had an emerging and growing stock of local business owners over the past few years. So, there's a strong entrepreneurship drive and it is encouraging that we sit with other entrepreneurs from the United States.
“One of the glaring opportunities that we have identified is what we have termed manufacturing for manufacturing, which is the manufacturing of intermediate goods that would serve the manufacturers to be able to produce finished goods,” said Ms Kuvarika.
Mr Edington Mazambani of the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) highlighted available and lucrative areas of investment in the energy sector while Mr Never Ncube the chief executive of Dandemutande highlighted an array of investment opportunities available in the ICT sector.