THE Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency ( ZIDA) says the country should strengthen investment project implementation frameworks and remove bottlenecks to close the yawning gap between licensed investments and actual inflows.
In its update for the fourth quarter of 2025, ZIDA said only 4 percent of the nearly US$40 billion investment projects licensed between 2022 and 2025 materialised.
The shortfall, ZIDA noted, may point to challenges like financing constraints, regulatory delays on implementation, poor record-keeping by investors and economic factors that affect investor confidence.
Zimbabwe’s State investment agency licensed 2 444 projects from 2022 to 2025, valued at US$39, 958 billion, yet only US$1,547 billion was realised.
Economists say stronger project implementation frameworks and removal of bottlenecks are critical to translate projections into real capital on the ground, the Q4 report shows.
“Actual investment inflows from the monitored projects totalled US$1,547 billion, indicating a 31 percent investment realisation to date against the total projections for monitored projects, and 4 percent progress against the total projections for all licensed projects from January 2022 to December 2025,” said ZIDA.
A breakdown of inflows by investment category shows significant gaps between approved projects and actual investment inflows.
“The investment inflows data show a significant gap between projections and actual inflows across all categories,” ZIDA said.
“The foreign exchange loan/debt injection had the highest projected investment at US$2,178 billion, with only US$392 million achieved (18 percent), indicating a significant shortfall.
“Similarly, foreign exchange equity injection projected US$1,312 billion, while actual inflows reached US$365 million (28 percent).
“In contrast, capital equipment from abroad performed relatively better, with US$765 million in actual inflows (56 percent) against a projected US$1,359 billion, suggesting stronger delivery in this category.
“Other sources, including local funds and others, contributed minimal amounts (collectively 12 percent) compared to projections.”
ZIDA said the trend reflected structural challenges in project implementation.
The investment licensing authority said the trend pointed to a persistent challenge in converting licensed investments into realised capital inflows, particularly in debt and equity injections.
“The dominance of foreign capital remains evident; however, the shortfall may point to challenges such as financing constraints, regulatory delays that affect implementation, poor record-keeping by investors, or macroeconomic factors that impact investor confidence,” ZIDA said.
“Strengthening project implementation frameworks and addressing bottlenecks could help close the gap between projected and actual investments, ensuring that licensed projects translate into tangible economic impact.”
Commenting on the figures, economist Ms Alice Chikonzi, co-director at Tagrite & Chikonzi Consultancy, said the strong investment projections were evidence of renewed investor confidence in Zimbabwe’s policy direction.
“The sheer scale of projected investment approved by ZIDA shows that Zimbabwe remains attractive to investors, particularly in mining and manufacturing. This is a positive signal for growth and long-term capital formation,” she said.
She cautioned that a weak execution framework for approved investments could undermine these gains.
“The real challenge is no longer licensing, but implementation,” said Ms Chikonzi. “Strengthening project execution frameworks, fast-tracking approvals, and resolving infrastructure and financing bottlenecks is essential if Zimbabwe is to close the gap between projected and actual investment inflows.”
Economist and business strategist with ConsultWorld Enterprise, Mr Busani Malaba, said the data underscored the need to shift focus from commitments to delivery.
“There is clear momentum on the investment promotion front, which should be commended. But the low realisation rates suggest structural constraints within project rollout, including access to long-term finance and regulatory coordination,” he said.
“Improving implementation capacity will ensure that licensed investments translate into factories, jobs, exports and fiscal revenues.
“Without this, the economy risks remaining stuck at the level of impressive projections with limited impact on livelihoods.”
ZIDA said one project, Magcor Consortium Group of Companies Zimbabwe, accounted for 15 percent (US$6 billion) of the total licensed projects value of US$39,958 billion from January 2022 to December 2025.
The agency said out of the 2 444 approved projects, 471 had been monitored to date, representing a 19 percent monitoring coverage, constituting US$5,058 billion in projected investment.
The agency noted that a few large-scale projects heavily influence the overall investment projections.
Moreover, progress on some flagship projects has been slow.
Sectoral analysis shows that manufacturing led actual investment inflows with US$685 million (47 percent), followed by mining with US$490 million (32 percent) and agriculture with US$205 million (13 percent).
“The remaining sectors, including energy (US$95 million), services (US$40 million), transport (US$15 million), financial services (US$6 million), construction (US$5 million), tourism and hospitality (US$4 million), ICT (US$3 million) and health (US$1 million) made relatively minor contributions.”
Mining and manufacturing led by value.
“The mining sector had the highest projected investment value of US$461,79 million, accounting for approximately 39,13 percent of the total projected investment value for the period. This was followed by the manufacturing sector, with a projected investment value of US$349,44 million, representing around 29,61 percent of total projections,” said ZIDA.
On employment creation, ZIDA reported significant concentration in a few sectors.
“In 2025, a total of 10 670 jobs were insured with the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) across 10 sectors. The sectoral distribution of the jobs is highly uneven, with mining and manufacturing alone accounting for over 70 percent of all jobs (4 434 and 3 078 jobs, respectively),” said ZIDA.
“Construction, agriculture and financial services form a mid-tier group, contributing around 19 percent of all jobs.
“The remaining sectors, including energy, services, transport, tourism and hospitality, health and ICT, collectively contribute about 11 percent.”
ZIDA warned of sector-specific risks.
“The heavy concentration of jobs in the mining and manufacturing sectors indicates that these two sectors are the most economically active. However, this pattern also highlights potential vulnerability to sector-specific shocks, as downturns in either industry could have a disproportionate impact on overall employment outcomes,” said ZIDA.
“This underscores the need to scale up investment facilitation efforts in mid-tier and lower-tier sectors to diversify employment sources and enhance the resilience of job creation in the future.”
Looking ahead, ZIDA chief executive Mr Tafadzwa Chinamo said ZIDA remains aligned with national priorities as Zimbabwe prepares for the transition to the next development framework. “Looking ahead to 2026 and the transition to National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), ZIDA remains closely aligned to National Priority Area 9: Image Building, International Relations and Trade,” he said.
“Our efforts will focus on strengthening business readiness, improving the investment climate and accelerating whole-of-government digital transformation. A key priority will be the full operationalisation of the One- Stop Investment Services Centre (OSISC) by 2030, positioning Zimbabwe as a competitive, efficient and investor-responsive destination within the global investment landscape.”-herald
