10 Investment opportunities In Zimbabwe

If you were to try convince an outside investor to invest in Zimbabwe, chances are most of them are not going to buy it. It’s not a secret how much Zimbabwe is in a crisis and has lost many big investors to other African countries. Most people who are entrepreneurial would know that all these challenges present a lot of opportunities from a business point of view.

Here are 10 sectors with great investment potential in Zimbabwe that you should know.

1. Media
Media in Zimbabwe is rapidly growing; with many private owned radio stations and soon television channels being introduced, there are a lot of investment opportunities for anyone who has a vision to take it even further. The key investment opportunities in media lie in digitalization which will allow Outside Broadcasting Units and Satellite Uplinks. There is investment opportunities in digital media, specially e-commerce, news blogs, classifieds and payment gateways as a lot more people are mobile and smartphone penetration is at it’s highest in Zimbabwe.

2. Agriculture Sector
Agriculture is a very broad industry. There are many investment opportunities to choose from, there is pig poultry, dairy projects, cotton farming and opportunities to increase crop production in Zimbabwe amongst other ventures that are dependent on this sector.

3. Energy Sector
Zimbabwe is currently facing energy problems. This is highly substantiated by the frequent load shedding, a challenge also currently faced by Nigeria, South Africa , Botswana etc . These challenges create opportunities around innovative and alternative energy sources . There is also a demand to extend of power stations, areas entrepreneurial Zimbabweans can tap into.

4. Transport Sector
Zimbabwe’s location in the SADC makes it the center in the region which allows the country to provide getaways to other countries. The transport networks which includes road, rail and air has a lot of investment opportunities in recovering and maintaining old roads, building bridges, developing corridors and introducing new technologies and efficient management to match other competitors.

5. Manufacturing Sector
Zimbabwe imports a lot of food and retail products from neighboring countries, active players in the sector can add value to job opportunities and the economy. There are opportunities to manufacture equipments used in all the different sectors like chemicals for agriculture, finishing textures and knitting products for clothing, wood and furniture saw milling, consumer electronics and communication equipments.

6. Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Sector
Technology is a great investment opportunity no matter where you are in the world. The industry is constantly evolving and especially in Zimbabwe where private broadcasting is just starting to be introduced. There’s need for Provision of media services, supply of digitalization equipment and telecommunications and postal services.

7. Tourism Sector
Tourism sector has a lot of investment opportunities because of the links it has to other sectors. There are investment opportunities in building accommodation in places like Kariba, Hwange National Park, Matopo Hills, Victoria Falls etc. The sector contributes a lot to foreign currency earnings, employment and allows joint venture investment opportunities.

8. Real Estate Sector
Zimbabwe has a huge population in the diaspora that is keen on investing in property back home but the challenges most face are the exorbitant pricing and absence of credible and reliable real estate companies that also offer house bonds like in South Africa which can be paid off at a monthly fee over a 10-20 year period from the diaspora. The construction of low to medium  income housing projects in Zimbabwe is an area with vast potential.

9. Mining Sector
You can’t ignore the prospects of gold and coal in Zimbabwe and the large reserve of platinum and diamond that the country has. There are investment opportunities in prospecting mining of various minerals like gold, coal, diamond, granite and platinum.

10. Mobile Banking & Payments
Zimbabwe has a huge Feature phone and Smartphone user base that could easily be tapped into . Eco-cash is a reflection of how mobile banking can be turned into a lucrative business (Remember the mobile banking solution has seen over 4 Billion USD worth of transactions since it’s inception in 2011) . There are also opportunities to integrate mobile banking solutions into retail, transport,health etc.