ZIDA on track to meet US$4bn investment target

THE Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (Zida) is on track to achieve its 2023 target of attaining US$4 billion worth of investment proposals on the back of an increase in new applications and renewals, an official said .

Zida investment development manager Mr Tapindwa Chipunza said the number of applications and approved licences had been rapidly increasing since the beginning of the year.

Zida is a state-owned investment agency responsible for promoting and facilitating local and foreign investment in the country. It came up as an integration of three investment authorities, which were previously housed in different Government ministries and departments.

“If we look at the first quarter of 2023, we had a jump in the number of applications to 219 and we also had a jump in the number of new licences from 89 to 116,” said Mr Chipunza.

“We did, however, have a small decline in the number of licences that were renewed. The projected investment value at a high level was at US$760 million year to date and for new applicants, we have 309 and about 156 renewals.

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‘’This growth in the numbers that we see or we continue to see if you look at the run rate that we have and the time that we are going to close the year, we should be able to exceed our targets.’’

Mr Chipunza attributed the increase in the number of applicants and renewals to initiatives that Zida has been taking to market Zimbabwe as a preferred destination of choice.

In 2022, Zida issued 562 investor licenses, compared to 228 a year earlier.

Out of the total, 55 percent were renewals. The licences issued show that mining was the most preferred investment sector with 130 licenses.

Zida has been working on improving the investment climate in Zimbabwe in a bid to make the country an easier place to do business.

This year, Zida cut the time needed to register new businesses from 20 to seven.

The streamlining of time required to register a business, under the One Stop Investment Services Centre (OSISC), is part of ongoing efforts to make it more flexible for those willing to start enterprises in the country.

One of the priorities of the Government is to improve the ease of doing business, or rather, create a more favourable operating business environment, including obtaining permits and licences, dealing with taxes, protecting investors, and other regulatory aspects.

It is an important indicator of a country’s business environment and critical to make the country attractive to investors.

The Government has continuously been on a drive to improve the ease of doing business to stimulate economic growth and attract more investment into the country.-chronicle