THE country’s economy is expected to grow by 6,6% this year, fuelled by agriculture, services and mining, a latest Zimbabwe Economic Update (ZEU) report has revealed.
The report, titled Fostering a Business-Enabling Regulatory Environment for Private Sector Growth, said the growth was projected to remain positive in the medium term, with a 5% expansion forecast for 2026 despite threats such as fiscal slippages, external shocks and climate-related disasters.
The report also noted that inflation is expected to ease to single digits and fall further to 5% over the medium term.
“Zimbabwe’s tight monetary policy since late 2024 has helped to improve inflation dynamics and stabilise the Zimbabwe Gold [ZiG] currency,” the report read.
“Poverty is expected to decline gradually as growth recovers, but remains sensitive to weather shocks and inflation, with rural households particularly exposed due to their dependence on rain-fed agriculture, slow off-farm job creation and inadequate social protection.”
ZEU urged the government to accelerate reforms that simplify and streamline business regulations, maintain macroeconomic stability, and strengthen the ease of doing business.
“Continued efforts to anchor the existing price and exchange rate stability will support economic growth and job creation while avoiding a reversal of the prevailing stability gains.”
The report examined the country’s business landscape with case studies across various sub-sectors, highlighting heavy regulatory burdens.
Agriculture, agro-processing and tourism face as many as 28 separate legal and regulatory requirements spanning multiple government ministries and agencies.
“High and regressive fee burdens impose significant monetary costs for firms, with compliance-related fees and levies in certain sectors sometimes exceeding annual revenues for some businesses.
“Several requirements continue to rely on paper-based processes that also require physical visits to the offices of relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) due to a lack of readily available information online on regulatory requirements.
“Multiple MDAs often issue requirements and conduct inspections targeting the same public policy goal, creating additional procedural and cost burdens for minimal public policy gain,” the report noted.
ZEU recognised notable progress in recent regulatory reforms by the government under the Presidential Ease of Doing Business initiative.
“The first phase, finalised in September 2025 with analytical support from the World Bank Group, focused on the beef, dairy, stock feed and tourism sectors, leading to the reduction or elimination of several levies and fees,” ZEU stated.
Senior economist Victor Steenbergen urged the government to step up efforts to improve the ease of doing business so that growth strengthens the private sector and delivers lasting benefits.
“The macroeconomy is improving,” he said.
“The government’s focus on prioritising efforts to improve the ease of doing business is more than necessary to enhance Zimbabwe’s private sector growth and competitiveness, and to eventually translate economic growth to lasting economic benefits.” -newsds
