The Government is strengthening the local content policy framework through enforceable thresholds, procurement reforms and industrial policy measures to accelerate domestic production, reduce import dependence and deepen value addition across key sectors of the economy.
Malaysia is one country often cited as a successful example of using local content to transform its economy and accelerate industrialisation. It promoted opportunities for local firms to supply the oil and gas industry, creating a robust, competitive local supply chain.
Brazil has implemented highly prescriptive, mandatory local content requirements to build its domestic oil, gas, and renewable energy industries
Similarly, Chile utilised local content in its mining sector to foster industrial growth.
Speaking at the Validation Workshop on Local Content Thresholds in Harare yesterday, Ministry of Industry and Commerce permanent secretary Ambassador Thomas Chigodora Chifamba said significant milestones had already been achieved in laying the foundation for a structured and accountable local content regime that supports the country’s broader industrialisation agenda.
He said the Government was working towards strengthening the legal and regulatory framework to ensure that local content thresholds are enforceable, compliance is monitored and non-performance is addressed.
“The success of local content policies both globally and within our own experience depends not only on design, but on implementation, enforcement and institutional discipline,” Amb Chifamba said.
“International best practice demonstrates that countries that have succeeded in local content development have done so by anchoring their strategies in law, aligning procurement with industrial policy, and linking compliance to incentives and financing.”
The workshop brought together Government officials, industry executives, regulators and private sector stakeholders to validate sector-specific local content thresholds that will guide procurement and industrial policy implementation across priority sectors.
Under the National Development Strategy 2 (2026-2030), the Government is pursuing deliberate measures to transform Zimbabwe into a production-led and value-driven economy anchored on industrialisation, local manufacturing and value addition.
Amb Chifamba said local content development had become a strategic tool for economic resilience, as the country seeks to build integrated domestic supply chains and retain more value in the local economy.
“It offers a pathway to reduce import dependence, deepen domestic production systems and build integrated supply chains that retain greater value within the country,” he said.
“In this context, local content becomes a strategic national tool for economic empowerment. It is about ensuring that Zimbabwe’s resources are effectively harnessed to develop domestic industries.”
He said the recently approved Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy (2026–2030), adopted by Cabinet in March this year, provides the strategic framework for accelerating industrialisation, deepening value addition and improving competitiveness across all major sectors of the economy.
At the centre of the policy is the Local Content Strategy (2026–2035), which seeks to expand production, strengthen industrial linkages and drive inclusive economic growth.
The strategy prioritises 16 sectors identified as having strong potential for import substitution, domestic
value addition and employment creation.
The Government is targeting an increase in local input utilisation from approximately 30 percent to 75 percent by 2035, while industrial capacity utilisation is expected to rise from the current 57.3 percent to 75 percent over the same period.
Manufactured exports are also projected to grow by an average of five percent annually.
“For too long, our economy has reflected a structural imbalance characterised by high import dependence, including goods that can and should be produced locally,” Amb Chifamba said.
“Every imported product that can be competitively produced locally represents a potential investment space, a platform for enterprise development and a source of employment creation.”
He said significant progress had already been achieved in implementing the strategy, including the reconstitution of the Local Content Steering Committee comprising public and private sector experts and industrialists tasked with providing technical guidance.
He said nine sectoral threshold studies have so far been completed covering fertiliser, packaging, pharmaceuticals, dairy, leather, oilseeds, textiles and clothing, soaps and detergents, iron and steel, as well as wood and timber.
He added that three of the studies were conducted with support from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
“These studies are critical as they provide an evidence-based foundation for defining local content thresholds that will guide procurement frameworks, introduce compliance incentives, and promote consolidated demand to prioritise local sourcing,” he said.
The Government has also moved to leverage public procurement as a tool for industrial development through PRAZ Circular No. 1 of 2025, which directs Government institutions to procure at least 60 percent of their requirements locally where feasible.
Amb Chifamba said progress had also been made in developing a National Digital Local Content Rating System that will allow companies to register production processes for official assessment, certification and rating.
“The platform will create a credible and verifiable database to guide both public and private sector sourcing decisions,” he said.
He added that the development of a Local Content Handbook was also helping Government institutions and private companies identify locally available products and services to support informed procurement decisions.
However, Amb Chifamba stressed that the success of the local content framework would depend on realistic and practical thresholds aligned with current industrial capacity.
“The thresholds that we are reviewing today will have far-reaching implications.
They will influence procurement decisions, shape industrial investment, and determine how value chains evolve across our economy,” he said.
“It is therefore essential that these thresholds are not only ambitious but also realistic.”
During the workshop, representatives from the Competition and Tariff Commission presented findings from various sectoral studies highlighting opportunities and constraints affecting local manufacturing.
CTC spokesperson Mr Prosper Ziyadhuma said Zimbabwe’s textile and clothing sector had strong local content potential in fabric manufacturing due to the availability of locally produced cotton.
He said local input utilisation in fabric manufacturing was estimated at close to 80 percent because producers relied heavily on local cotton lint.
However, garment manufacturing continued to face challenges due to increased demand for polyester and polycotton blends, which are not produced locally.
“We are seeing a shift in terms of the type of fabric that is being demanded in the market,” said Mr Ziyadhuma.
“Currently in Zimbabwe, we don’t produce polyester, so we then have to import polyester.”
He identified financing constraints, supply inconsistencies and pricing competitiveness as major challenges affecting local textile manufacturers.
Mr Ziyadhuma said consistent Government policy implementation and preferential procurement systems would be critical in promoting local input usage.
Meanwhile, presenting findings on the soaps and detergents subsector, CTC official Mr Tatenda Mapuranga said expanding local procurement in the sector offered major opportunities for employment creation and import substitution.
He noted that Zimbabwe continued to spend millions of dollars in foreign currency importing finished soaps and detergents.
“A mandatory local content threshold for Zimbabwe’s soap and detergent sector requires addressing critical supply chain gaps to increase local input use, as Zimbabwe has limited chemical plants producing the raw materials required,” he said.
Mr Mapuranga said the Government should facilitate the establishment of local chemical plants and support innovation hubs developing raw materials for the sector, while intensifying anti-smuggling operations targeting imported soaps and detergents.-herald
