The Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency recorded a strong increase in the projected value of new investments in the third quarter of 2026, underpinned by a shift towards more capital-intensive projects, expanded project preparation and strengthened post-licensing support, according to its Quarter Three Performance Report titled Unearthing Zimbabwe’s Potential.
In his statement, Chief Executive Officer Mr. Tafadzwa Chinamo said the quarter recorded continued investment interest in productive sectors alongside progress in project preparation and investor establishment support. He said the priority towards the final quarter is to translate this interest into operational projects that contribute to industrialisation, employment, exports and sustainable economic growth.
During the quarter the Agency sustained outreach through digital communication, targeted promotion and stakeholder engagement. Digital reach expanded across international markets. Zimbabwe remained the largest source of reported website page viewers. Between July and September, page viewers increased by 41.2% in the United States, 69.0% in China and 45.3% in the United Kingdom. South Africa remained an important regional audience, with 357 viewers in September compared to 337 in July.
The Agency recorded 375 enquiries through its service channels, down 23.6% from 491 in Q2. Email remained the leading channel with 153 enquiries, or 40.8% of the total. Walk-in, website and Contact Centre enquiries declined. Monthly volumes rose from 115 in July to 138 in August, then eased to 122 in September.
By category, licensing enquiries accounted for 138 contacts, or 36.8%, reflecting demand for information on initial licensing and renewals, while investment enquiries accounted for 123 contacts, or 32.8%. Within investment enquiries, multi-sector interest was the largest category with 27 enquiries, followed by mining with 17, agriculture with 16 and energy with 15. Manufacturing and tourism each recorded 11 enquiries. Zimbabwe accounted for 54 of the investment enquiries, about 44%, while about 37% had no recorded country of origin, limiting source-market analysis. Promotion records separately identified interest from the United Kingdom, India, China, Australia, Mozambique, Austria, Russia, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
The Agency issued 182 new investment licences in Q3 with a combined projected investment value of US$2.61 billion. Compared to Q2, the number of licences declined by 1.1% while projected value increased by 64.1% to US$2.606 billion from US$1.588 billion, pointing to a greater concentration of capital-intensive projects.
The investment structure was dominated by foreign currency cash injections, which accounted for 57.2% or US$1.49 billion, followed by imported capital equipment at 35.8% or US$933.35 million. Foreign currency loans and debt represented 4.8%, while local contributions and raw materials accounted for about 1.3% and 0.9% respectively, highlighting the importance of capital mobilisation and equipment procurement for implementation.
Manufacturing emerged as the leading sector by projected value with US$1.219 billion across 49 licences, followed closely by mining with US$1.064 billion across 78 licences. Together the two sectors accounted for US$2.28 billion, or 87.6% of total projected investment, up from 79.6% in Q2. Energy recorded US$129.52 million, services US$63.63 million and tourism and hospitality US$46.5 million.
Geographically, the Midlands Province attracted the largest projected value at US$1.406 billion, or 54% of the total, from 30 licences. Harare recorded the largest number of licences at 81, representing 44.5% of approvals, with US$360.78 million in value. Mashonaland West followed with US$223.12 million across 19 licences. Collectively, Midlands, Harare and Mashonaland West accounted for about 76.4% of projected investment.
The PPP portfolio recorded key developments. The US$99.3 million Chirundu Border Post modernisation project received Cabinet approval and progressed to fundraising. The US$67 million Masuwe bulk infrastructure project remained at fundraising following commercial close in Q2. The proposed gold exploration partnership between the Mining Promotion Corporation and Primecore Spectrum Mineral Exploration was recommended to Cabinet by the PPP Committee.
Six new PPP proposals were received in Q3, bringing the year-to-date total to 31. They cover heterojunction photovoltaic module manufacturing with Huasun Energy under ZESA Enterprises, integrated solid waste management systems for the City of Bulawayo and City of Kwekwe with Geo-Pomona, water infrastructure rehabilitation for Bulawayo, liquid sodium battery manufacturing and agrivoltaic systems for Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, and glass-reinforced plastic pipe manufacturing for Zimbabwe National Water Enterprises. Values are yet to be determined as projects progress through pre-feasibility and full feasibility stages.
On Special Economic Zones, six designation applications covering manufacturing, agro-processing, mineral beneficiation and integrated industrial development were reviewed. Varun Beverages’ 22-hectare beer manufacturing zone in Beatrice was rejected following review and site assessment due to land tenure and export threshold requirements, while other applications including Varun Beverages snacks and juice in Southerton, Harvfresh Investments 267-hectare agro-processing zone in Chegutu, Condere Holdings 8.1-hectare export-oriented industrial park, Ebene 1.4-hectare granite beneficiation zone in UMP, and the University of Zimbabwe 1,636-hectare integrated agro-industrial zone were at various stages awaiting documentation, EMA prospectus approval and site assessments.
Three investment commitments with a combined indicative value of US$13.5 million were recorded within existing zones in Q3, comprising US$5 million by Jiateng Electrode Paste Manufacturing in Afrochine Smelting, US$7.5 million by Victoria Crest Solutions LTDA in Business Process Outsourcing at Joina City, and US$1 million by Munyati Riverside Investment for a five-star lodge in Dinson Iron and Steel Industrial Park. This brings year-to-date commitments in SEZs to US$470.5 million. A consolidated SEZ Development Register with 24 entries showed 50% at operationalisation stage, 25% at planning, feasibility and financing, 8.3% at infrastructure development and 16.7% dormant.
The Agency developed five new project teasers and summaries valued at approximately US$92.7 million across energy, mining, agro-processing and agriculture. These include Fort Rixon Gold Exploration at US$2.94 million, Buck Special Grant Gold Mining at US$3.5 million, both promoted by Mining Promotion Corporation, Acacia Solar 50MW Solar PV at US$70 million, Glytime Foods Integrated Foods Complex at US$15 million in Sunway City, and Padzinde Redu Pawpaw Hub at US$1.26 million in Chakari. Eight Expressions of Interest were also appraised across agriculture, energy, transport and real estate, with many at early due diligence stage.
Targeted promotion engaged 259 profiled investors, generated 44 qualified leads and recorded five commitments valued at US$295.49 million across renewable energy, agriculture, mining and manufacturing. Investor engagements increased by 7.5% over Q2 while qualified leads increased by 29.4%, improving the engagement-to-qualified-lead ratio from 14.1% to 17%. The commitments to qualified leads ratio was 11.4% compared to 23.5% in Q2, with the Agency noting that tracking individual leads across periods will provide a more precise conversion measure.
International cooperation advanced through a Memorandum of Understanding with Invest Hong Kong and technical support to economic cooperation engagements with the United Arab Emirates and China, providing platforms for investment information exchange.
By end of September, a total of 3,882 projects licensed since January 2022 were on record with a cumulative projected value of US$63.63 billion. Of these, 858 had been monitored, representing about 22.1% coverage, up from about 20% at end of Q2. Including projects licensed before 2022, total monitored projects stood at 1,208.
Monitoring recorded cumulative verified inflows of US$1.95 billion from the January 2022 to September 2026 cohort. Cumulative actual inflows were geographically concentrated, with Midlands and Harare accounting for about US$1.25 billion, or 64% of realised investment. Masvingo recorded about US$398 million and Mashonaland West US$132 million, with the four provinces accounting for about 91% of inflows. By sector, manufacturing recorded about US$769 million, mining US$588 million and agriculture US$370 million, together accounting for nearly 89% of verified inflows.
Employment outcomes from monitored projects in Q3 stood at 1,945 jobs, with mining accounting for 1,616 jobs or 83.1%, manufacturing 287 or 14.8%, and other sectors 42 jobs.
On facilitation, the Agency operationalised the Investor Establishment and Facilitation Framework in August, onboarding all investors licensed since August and inviting them to identify establishment and regulatory support requirements to allow earlier engagement with relevant institutions. It also advanced its Aftercare Programme, profiling 30 investors for targeted support, refining the Aftercare Framework and developing investor engagement plans, with the first aftercare engagement held as a cocktail in Bulawayo to activate the programme in the Southern Region.
Licence renewal performance remained a challenge. The Agency reported 160 renewals in Q3 compared to 158 in Q2 and 164 in Q3 2025. On-time renewals were 79, or about 27.6% of the 286 licences due, slightly down from 28.5% in Q2. Renewals from other periods increased to 83, indicating processing of earlier-period licences.
The report notes that mobilising project finance remains central to converting approvals into productive activity, with large projects that have not mobilised financing demonstrating the need to assess readiness and realistic milestones. SEZ applications were delayed by outstanding documentation, land tenure and environmental clearance, while dormant zones require targeted support.
Several regulatory developments in Q3 affect investment costs and operations. These include SI 107 of 2026 on liquor licensing fees, SI 108 on medicinal and scientific cannabis production with five-year licence validity and security requirements, SI 118 requiring prior ZERA approval for electricity exports, SI 120 on electric vehicle charging station safety standards, SI 125 providing licence fee relief for commercial generation projects below 10MW, SI 128 requiring land developers to finance and construct electricity backbone infrastructure with a five-year warranty, SI 136 vesting State shares in Olivine Industries and Surface Wilmar in the Mutapa Investment Fund, SI 140 classifying betting, lotteries and gambling as VAT-exempt, SI 141 reducing polypropylene duty from 5% to 0% and increasing duty on poultry drinkers and feeders to 25%, SI 142 on duty suspensions for sports infrastructure and BKPO equipment where a mismatch with the published BKPO Framework was identified, and SI 152 on duty suspension for vehicles supporting persons with disabilities.
The Agency engaged Treasury, the Office of the President and Cabinet and inter-ministerial structures on the Integrated Provincial SEZ Programme, incentive framework and proposed amendments to the ZIDA Act and SI 226 of 2023, with a priority in Q4 to secure alignment on BKPO incentives.
On knowledge development, the Agency advanced the Agriculture Sector Report with first draft completion, participated in agricultural value chain validation for goats, sunflowers, traditional grains and avocados, contributed to the National Tourism Sector Strategy 2026-2030, and engaged on the African Development Bank Zimbabwe Country Focus Report and SADC Private Sector Health and Investment Forum. It also progressed institutional capacity support with GFA Consulting Group funded by the European Union, and expanded its Transaction Adviser pool to 20 with the onboarding of Winfield Strategy and Innovation. The Agency and stakeholders participated in Certified PPP Professional training with a 100% pass rate.
The report concludes that Q3 recorded stronger digital reach, more qualified promotion leads and higher projected investment approvals, accompanied by lower service enquiry volumes and fewer promotion commitments, demonstrating the need to assess each stage of the investment lifecycle separately. Focus in Q4 will be on progressing commitments towards implementation, supporting financing for strategic projects, strengthening investor aftercare, improving renewal compliance, and engaging Government on regulatory issues affecting investment, including alignment of incentives applicable to Business and Knowledge Process Outsourcing.
Overall, the Q3 performance is directly aligned to Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 aspiration of becoming an upper-middle-income economy and the priorities of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) 2026-2030. The dominance of manufacturing and mining in both approved and realised investment supports NDS2 pillars on industrialisation, value addition and beneficiation, mineral beneficiation and import substitution, while the growth in verified inflows, the 1,945 jobs recorded in the quarter, and the emphasis on investor establishment and aftercare contribute to employment creation, poverty reduction and human capital development. The expanding pipeline in renewable energy, energy storage, agrivoltaics and electric vehicle infrastructure, together with PPPs in border modernisation, water and waste management, and SEZ developments in agro-processing and export-oriented industry, advance NDS2 objectives on infrastructure development, climate resilience, food systems transformation, and export-led growth, positioning investment as a key enabler for sustained and inclusive growth towards Vision 2030.
