The Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) says the number of new investment licences were up 12.5% in third quarter.
ZIDA whose mandate is promotion and facilitation of domestic and foreign investment in Zimbabwe, says regardless of the challenges faced, the country registered encouraging investor interest across most sectors during the quarter under review.
Below is the CEO’s statement:
I am delighted to present the Agency’s 3rd Quarter report. The quarter was an exciting and fruitful period for ZIDA as we continued to attract and facilitate investments that drive economic growth and development.
Regardless of the challenges faced, we registered encouraging investor interest across most sectors during the quarter.
Our dedicated Gems outdid themselves as the team worked tirelessly to promote our country as a worthwhile investment destination, the result being a significant rise in inquiries, investor visits, and investment projects in the pipeline as well as licensed.
This surge in investor confidence is testament to the robustness of the country’s investment ecosystem and the efforts we have channelled towards informing the world of the bountiful investment opportunities and collective government thrust to continually improve and simplify the business environment.
At licensing, the energy sector registered the highest projected investment value at USD$2,800.58 million with 6 new licences being issued during the quarter.
The Mining sector was second with a projected investment value of USD$411.97 million with 86 new licences issued. Overall, the 3rd Quarter recorded a 12.5 % increase over the 2nd Quarter in the number of investor licences issued by the Agency.
One of our standout achievements during the quarter was the successful launch of the Mining Matchmaking Platform on 31 August 2023 which we developed in-house with all programming being done by our ICT team.
It is the first of its kind and though currently limited to one sector, the aim is to roll out similar platforms across all sectors thus making it easier for project promoters to find investors for their projects from all over the world using internet connected devices.
Specifically for mining, our goal is to turn as many of the more 50,000 mining claims held by Zimbabweans from all walks of life into viable mining operations.
ZIDA continued to prioritise the promulgation of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Regulations and the General Investments (GI) Regulations, which will provide clarity on the Agency’s investment licensing process and fees it charges.
The regulations have been finalised and submitted to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to facilitate promulgation. Furthermore, the Agency continued to foster strong partnerships with key stakeholders, including government agencies, industry associations and international organizations to simplify the investment process and ease of doing business.
Three collaboration agreements were signed with CBZ, ZNCC and RBZ. These collaborations will play a vital role in creating an enabling environment for investment, streamlining regulatory processes, and providing tailored support to investors. The ZIDA mining prospectus with specific bankable projects ready for off-takers was the centrepiece of our offering at the Africa Downunder in Perth, Australia in September 2023. Through this prospectus, investors appreciated our clarity in communicating the projects’ value propositions resulting in increased investor awareness and engagement.
The prospectus will be the standard bearer in coming up similar campaigns across all sectors as the Agency showcases unique investment opportunities to both domestic and international investors.
As we navigate the ever-changing global landscape, we remain confident in our ability to attract investments, drive economic development, and create a prosperous future for our country and look forward to achieving bigger milestones in the last quarter of 2023.
ZIDA continued to prioritise the promulgation of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Regulations and the General Investments (GI) Regulations, both of which will provide clarity on the investment licensing procedures and fees, as well as enhance efficiencies in the licensing process for general investments and special economic zones.
This is turn will contribute to the ease of doing business and improvement of the investment climate in the country. During the period under review the Attorney General’s office completed the legal scrubbing of the Regulations and on the 20th of September 2023, ZIDA received the printer’s copy for final review. This process has now been completed and the Regulations have been submitted back to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to facilitate promulgation.
Zwnews
