Harare, (New Ziana) – Despite legacy structural constraints in select business sectors it has investments in, the Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) delivered a surplus after tax of US$21.7 million, reflecting improved operating performance across core assets.
In his statement in the Fund’s abridged audited financial statement for the year ended December 31, 2025, chief investment officer Simba Chinyemba noted that mineral resources, energy, and trading formed the core earnings base, while the agriculture and industrial cluster progressed through stabilisation and turnaround phases.
“This outcome underscores the Fund’s increasing ability to combine current cash yield with long-duration capital appreciation. Total comprehensive income increased to US$1.4 billion, driven predominantly by fair value gains across the investment portfolio, with value creation led by the mineral resources cluster, supported by favourable precious metal price dynamics and improved asset level positioning.
“The balance sheet strengthened materially. The investment portfolio increased to US$16.3 billion from US$14.8 billion in the prior year, while Funds and reserves rose to US$15.2 billion from US$13.7 billion. Liabilities remained contained, preserving a conservative leverage profile and providing substantial capacity for future capital deployment, co-investment, and structured financing activities,” he said.
Chinyemba highlighted that the year under review marked a pivotal period in the Fund’s evolution toward a platform-led, value creation investment model.
Active ownership, portfolio optimisation, and monitoring were deepened through governance reform, capital structure optimisation, and operational turnaround initiatives across the portfolio.
“Cluster-based performance diagnostics were institutionalised, translating financial and operational reviews into reorganisation strategies, corporate rescue exits, balance sheet repairs, and value chain integration initiatives,” he said.
Portfolio oversight was strengthened through quarterly performance scorecards and Fund dashboards developed with the World Bank, structured Annual General Meeting (AGM) and shareholder voting protocols, enhanced board engagement and director accountability frameworks, as well as risk mapping and sustainability tracking.
The Fund also executed a fundamental re-architecture of its mining portfolio, transitioning from conglomerate holding structures to a commodity-aligned, ring-fenced operating model across gold, base metals, energy, agro minerals, frontier resources, and technology metals.
“This repositioning materially strengthened governance, sharpened operational accountability, and significantly enhanced investor readiness and financing optionality,” Chinyemba said.
He added that entering 2026, MIF was positioned as a scaled sovereign investment platform with strong execution capability supported by a strengthened balance sheet, enhanced portfolio transparency, and a maturing, bankable deal pipeline.
“This positioning has been deliberately built to remain resilient amid an increasingly volatile global environment marked by geopolitical conflict, including recent Middle East escalations, energy market dislocations, supply chain disruptions, and tighter global financial conditions.
“Against this backdrop, the Fund’s strategy prioritises downside protection alongside long-term value creation, underpinned by conservative leverage, diversified real asset exposure, disciplined capital allocation, and structured risk sharing frameworks. Active portfolio management, asset ring fencing, revenue generation, and enhanced liquidity buffers remain central to mitigating external shocks while preserving capital,” he said.
New Ziana
