By Zachary Gava
Harare, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe’s ambition to transform into an industrialized economy hinges on its ability to build reliable and resilient infrastructure, with the World Bank urging the country to prioritize investments in energy, transport and digital systems to unlock sustainable growth and attract investors.
Speaking at the inaugural Zimbabwe Industrialization Conference and Expo 2026 in Harare on Friday, World Bank Country Director Eneida Fernandes said resilient infrastructure was no longer merely a technical issue but a fundamental pillar of economic transformation and job creation.
“It is about the factory worker whose wages stop when the power goes out. It is about the small firm owner who cannot afford a private generator and loses her entire week’s production to a single grid failure,” Fernandes said.
She stressed that resilient infrastructure determines whether businesses and communities can continue operating when faced with climate shocks, power outages or transport disruptions.
Fernandes noted that infrastructure failures remain a daily reality across many developing countries, costing billions of dollars annually through damaged roads, unreliable electricity, disrupted supply chains and internet outages.
“No serious investor – domestic or foreign – will anchor a long-term industrial operation to infrastructure they cannot depend on,” she said, adding: “Infrastructure resilience is not a precursor to industrial policy. It is industrial policy.”
She said Zimbabwe has significant opportunities to accelerate industrialization despite broader economic headwinds facing Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to Fernandes, while Africa’s exports remain dominated by raw commodities, intra-African trade increasingly consists of manufactured and processed goods, creating an opportunity for Zimbabwe to add value to its mineral and agricultural resources under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
She identified energy, transport and logistics, and digital infrastructure as the three critical systems that require urgent investment.
On energy, Fernandes said Zimbabwe possesses considerable potential in hydropower and solar energy but must improve the reliability of electricity supply through climate-resilient generation and stronger transmission networks.
She highlighted Zimbabwe’s participation in the World Bank-supported M300 Capital Facility, describing it as a financing mechanism capable of attracting large-scale clean energy investment.
Turning to transport, Fernandes said Zimbabwe’s strategic location along the North-South Corridor gives it a competitive advantage, provided roads, railways and border infrastructure are modernized and efficiently managed.
She also called for expanded affordable digital infrastructure to industrial zones, saying connectivity had become essential for supply chains, financial services and participation in global value chains.
Fernandes urged Zimbabwe to incorporate climate resilience into infrastructure design, leverage public-private partnerships to mobilize investment and concentrate resources on high-potential industrial zones capable of demonstrating rapid economic returns.
“Zimbabwe is not starting from zero,” she said. “It has a skilled workforce, significant mineral and agricultural endowments, and a geographic position that makes it a natural regional hub.”
She urged stakeholders to treat resilient infrastructure as indispensable to Zimbabwe’s industrial future.
“Zimbabwe’s path to industrialization runs through the quality, the reliability, and the resilience of the systems it chooses to build,” Fernandes said.
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