ZIDA records surge in investor applications via online portal

THE Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (Zida) says investors are increasingly embracing its online DIY Licensing Portal, representing 28 percent of all applications since its inception.

A significant development in the ease of doing business reforms, the increase in portal usage launched in February this year has led to a notable rise in applications.

The electronic licensing portal (e-licensing portal) is a self-service platform for investors where the submission of application, renewals, progress reports and investor interface is done. To complete everything, up to five days are needed.

In its second-quarter report for 2024, Zida expressed enthusiasm over the success of the DIY Portal, which offers investors a user-friendly platform for submitting registrations and license applications.

It said that the performance statistics indicate a notable preference for the DIY portal over traditional email submissions.

Increased publicity surrounding the DIY portal led to more potential investors registering their investment licenses online, it added.

“The number of licenses issued in the first quarter of 2024 increased by eight percent compared to the second quarter of 2024 and a 10 percent decrease in the licenses issued in the same quarter of 2023.

“The high number of licenses issued follows the improvement in the licensing process as investors have embraced the online DIY Licensing Portal, which now accounts for 28 percent of all applications submitted since the launch of the portal,” said Zida.

“The Agency recorded a 68 percent increase in the projected investment value during the period under review compared to the same period in 2023,” reads part of the report.

Zida is a statutory body formed after the enactment of the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency (Zida)Act, which was signed into law in February 2020.

As a statutory body, Zida’s main mandate is to promote and protect investment in the country. The portal milestone comes as the country is initiating measures to streamline regulatory procedures, eliminate bureaucratic obstacles and strengthen investor protection mechanisms in pursuit of Vision 2030.

The portal among other measures seeks to establish a transparent and predictable regulatory framework that fosters investor confidence and catalyses long-term investment in Zimbabwe.

The portal also buttresses that Zimbabwe is open for business and creates a faster and much easier route for an investor in any part of the world to access Zimbabwe’s investment opportunities.

The agency said during the period under review, its “Promoting Zimbabwe”, “Investor Services” and “About Zida”’ pages experienced a significant surge in visitor traffic compared to the previous reporting period.

“This indicates heightened stakeholder interest in accessing information on investment opportunities, investor bulletins, the second-quarter report and the annual report.

“Increased publicity surrounding the DIY portal led to more potential investors registering their investment licenses online,” it noted.

Additionally, an increase was noted in website visitors particularly users from South Africa for May during the Zimbabwe Investment Summit 2024.

Visitors from the United Kingdom grew from 169 in the first quarter to 426 in the second quarter in line with the Financial Capital Markets and Investment Forum in which the agency participated. Notable traffic was also recorded from the USA and China.

According to the report, of the 154 new licenses issued with a projected value of US$1,8 billion in the second quarter of 2024, the manufacturing sector had the highest projected investment value, which accounted for 41 percent of the aggregate investment value, followed by the energy sector with 35 percent and the mining sector, which accounted for 21 percent.-chroncile