Zida probes why investors are exiting Zim

THE Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency (Zida) has established an aftercare unit to relook into the issues affecting investors leaving the country.

Over the years, several international companies have been exiting the country, while prospective investors have been sitting on the fence citing the challenging economic environment and high country risk, among other issues.

A volatile economic and political environment as well as policy inconsistency since the turn of the millennium have also precipitated rapid capital flight, with investors expressing concern over bottlenecks in the economy.

Speaking at a Zida Annual Stakeholders Stategy Input Forum in Harare yesterday, Zida chief executive officer Tafadzwa Chinamo said the aftercare unit will play a crucial role in ensuring that investors have a smooth experience in Zimbabwe and be able to diagnose any challenges they might be facing.

“Last year also, I think there was an issue from the group that you recommended that we engage companies leaving the country and to do interviews to understand why these companies were exiting. So, it is something that we have been talking about for a while. So, we formally established an after-care unit. And I always like to liken this to after-care in the more traditional sense of healthcare,” he said.

“If a doctor has operated on you and you are discharged from hospital, it is always good to see a few months, a few weeks after that, how you are recuperating, if the treatment is working. It is the same thing here.

“We issue licences and we help investors to establish themselves in the country, but beyond that, we also want to find out how things are going. And we believe that by doing so beforehand, we address issues that might lead ultimately to an investor taking their bags and going.”

Chinamo said Zida was also working on creating an online platform to connect small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with potential investors, making it easier for them to access financing.

Last year, the investment arm of government launched platforms for the mining and tourism sectors, which have made it easier to attract investments in these sectors.

“We believe that there are a whole lot of SMEs out there that are looking for investment. Some of them come to us and say, ‘look, I have got this project, please find someone to invest in for me’,” Chinamo said.

“But we want now to create an online platform where all these opportunities are available just at the click of a button for anyone interested, no matter where they are in the world. So last year, we launched the mining and tourism one. So, SMEs for us is next. We should see it coming up by the end of this year.”

He said Zida is working on encompassing the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and the Department of Immigration in its operations to make the organisation a one-stop shop for investors.

“To aid that process, I spoke about the One-Stop Investment Services Centre that we have within Zida. We have 19 ministries, departments and agencies housed within Zida,” Chinamo said.

“For us, we want to take it a step further. It is one thing having a person from NSSA or the Reserve Bank within our office, but if we, as an organisation, are not committing ourselves to delivering a service to our investors at a standard that we believe is in keeping with best practice, then we’re not doing much. So, with NSSA, the Reserve Bank, Zimra and Immigration, it is work in progress.”

The Zida boss said the organisation signed 12 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) over the last 12 months to expand the organisation’s reach for investment opportunities.

“We also collaborated this year, not just within the government itself, but also with stakeholders outside this country. So, with Kenya Invest, which is our equivalent in Kenya, we got an MoU that we signed this year. Same with our Zambian counterparts, but also with private players,” he said.

“So, we have now signed a total of 12 MoUs over the past 12 months, and this year we signed an MoU with FDC, because we believe that by ourselves, we will not be able to deliver this mandate. But if we work collaboratively internally within government, and also with the private sector [we can achieve our goals].”

He also noted that Zida has solidified relations with business groups in the country to be able to meet the expectations of the economy of the country.

“As you’ll see there also, with the CZI [Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries] and ZNCC [Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce] and the CEO Roundtable, these are institutions that we believe represent the generality of the economy of Zimbabwe,” Chinamo said.newsda