VP Chiwenga spotlights Zim investment opportunities

Dubai (New Ziana) –With abundant mineral resources, good climate and soils for agriculture and highly skilled human capital, Zimbabwe offers an unrivalled investment portfolio and is ready to welcome new global capital, Vice President General Constantino Chiwenga (Rtd) said on Thursday.
He said this in his intervention during an interactive session at the highly subscribed two -day Global Business Forum Africa which was held on the sidelines of the 6 month Expo2020-Dubai.
The GBFA facilitates international revenue flows by engaging leading decision makers on the global investment scene.
Influential stakeholders also participate in constructive dialogue at the highest level focusing on key developments and investment opportunities emerging across Africa.
VP Chiwenga outlined the several trade and investment opportunities available in various sectors in Zimbabwe, ranging from mining, agriculture and tourism sectors.
The Second Republic has cited attracting increased foreign direct investment as a crucial element in driving the country’s development agenda.
To lure investments, the government has introduced several investor friendly policies and initiatives including creating the one stop investment centre, the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency and special economic zones.
“Zimbabwe is endowed with natural resources, it has got a good climate, good soils and it is strategically positioned in the Southern Africa area. Our centrality in that region has got its great advantages for interconnections to all other countries,” he said.
In terms of agriculture, Vice President Chiwenga said recent studies and research had revealed massive potential for the cultivation of almost any type of crop either through rain fed farming or irrigation.
He said about 350 000 hectares of farm land would be opened up by 2024, and this presented an opportunity for investment in the agriculture value chain.
“We have now done the research and we have found that in every part of Zimbabwe, every crop can be grown, we also pride ourselves for having one of the biggest rivers on the African continent the Zambezi river which is 4th largest on the African continent, we share the river at the border with Zambia.
“We also have other major rivers like the Save and the Limpopo which we have a common boundary with South Africa and it is in these valleys that we are now developing (land for farming), there are good soils and there is plenty of water. Coming into the inland of the country, Zimbabwe has got 10 700 dams, it is the most dammed country on the African continent and with climate change, this is the only way you can guarantee production of crops and productivity.”
VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe, which has achieved food self-sufficiency, is targeting to start producing in excess of 2 million metric tonnes of grain by 2024 which will require export markets, thus presenting another potential area for trade cooperation.
The horticulture sector is also a crucial are that Zimbabwe intends to boost as abundant export opportunities were available in countries such as the United Arab Emirates.
While in Dubai, VP Chiwenga toured a local fresh produce distribution company, Ali Gholami which expressed interest in expanding its import basket from Zimbabwe.
In the mining sector, Vice President Chiwenga said Zimbabwe was home to over 60 commercially viable minerals including gold, platinum, nickel, lithium and rare earth metals.
In tourism, he spotlighted potential investments around Zimbabwe’s premium tourism destination, the Victoria Falls and in the Safari and conservation sub-sector.
“A small country like Zimbabwe with capacity to keep only 35 000 elephants, but is currently standing at 93 000 elephants, just to give as an example of what we have. We have got the biggest rhino population on the African continent and we take pride in that. This is the area where tourism offers great opportunities from conservation,” he said.
New Ziana