Zimbabwe stepped into a different kind of national conversation as the Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Hon. Raj Modi opened the 2025 National Tariff and Competition Conference. It felt less like a policy event and more like the unveiling of a country that has quietly grown tired of old economic ceilings and is now taking deliberate steps to break through them. What unfolded in that room was a story of ambition, structure, and a Government openly declaring that the era of defensive industrialisation is over. The new goal is to compete, expand and win.
The Deputy Minister’s message was striking. Zimbabwe is not waiting for global markets to become kinder. It is preparing itself to matchy those markets head on. He described the economy as one that is no longer recovering but repositioning. He reminded the audience that industrial output is rising, factories are returning to life, and new value chains are emerging with confidence. Industry contributed nearly a third of national GDP in 2024 and manufacturing carried over fifteen percent on its own. The figures were not presented as applause lines but as evidence that real structural shifts are taking place beneath the surface.
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Book NowThe Government is now finalising the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy for 2026 to 2030, a document that is being crafted as an engine room blueprint rather than a bureaucratic update. The Deputy Minister explained that the vision is to build an economy that produces more than it consumes, exports more than it imports, and innovates more than it imitates. He emphasised that Zimbabwe must build an industrial identity that is modern, advanced, efficient and globally competitive. The transformation of the steel industry, led by the Manhize Steel Plant, stands as proof that this shift is already underway. It is a project that is not only producing steel. It is producing confidence and altering the country’s place in regional value chains.
The Deputy Minister was equally deliberate about the internal reforms that must support this industrial ambition. He pointed to a national fees and licensing system that has long frustrated businesses and confirmed that Government is rewriting it to promote transparency, reduce duplication and allow enterprises to grow without drowning in administrative costs. He said an economy cannot industrialise when its businesses spend more time navigating paperwork than producing goods. The reforms are meant to remove friction so that companies can focus on investment, innovation and expansion.
He framed competition policy as one of the most important tools in the modern economy. Zimbabwe, he said, cannot afford markets that reward dominance instead of efficiency. He announced that the Competition Act is being modernised to reflect a world defined by technology, speed and global integration. Anti competitive mergers will face sharper scrutiny, abuses of market power will face stronger deterrence, and markets will be shaped to reward companies that innovate and add value. The Deputy Minister stressed that fair competition is not merely a regulatory ideal. It is a growth strategy. It forces businesses to improve, adopt new technologies and raise their productivity.
On tariffs, he delivered a perspective rooted in strategy rather than protection. Zimbabwe will use tariffs selectively, precisely and temporarily. Tariff support will be performance linked and sector specific. Industries that benefit must innovate, boost productivity and prepare for export markets. He explained that the African Continental Free Trade Area is not designed for protected companies but for competitive ones. Zimbabwe intends to build firms that are ready for that environment, companies that can operate as national champions in regional and global markets.
Throughout the address, the Deputy Minister articulated an industrial philosophy that is emerging with clarity. Zimbabwe does not want an economy that reacts. It wants an economy that shapes outcomes. It wants a private sector that leads growth, not one that survives on policy sympathy. It wants regulators that create order, not obstacles. He urged the delegates to treat the conference as a space to produce actionable ideas. In his view, Zimbabwe’s next chapter depends on collaboration between the Government, industry and academia, where each plays a strategic role in building a competitive national economy.
He closed his address with a quiet but powerful conviction. Zimbabwe is entering an industrial acceleration phase. The country is rewriting the rules of how it competes, how it regulates, and how it prepares for a future defined by technology, regional integration and global competition. What happens next will depend on the decisions made now, on the reforms being finalised, and on the willingness of businesses to expand their imagination of what Zimbabwean industry can become.
With that vision laid out, he officially opened the 2025 National Tariff and Competition Conference, setting the tone for two days of discussions that could influence Zimbabwe’s economic direction for many years to come.
