EDelivers: ZIDA Drives, Streamlines Investment Processing Period

Dinson Iron and Steel Company plant construction in Manhize

Herald Reporter

THE Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency (ZIDA) has streamlined the number of days required to approve new businesses in the country from 30 to seven days, which has seen the country registering a 35,5 percent increase in investments to US$1,836 billion in the first half of the year. This is on the back of initiatives instituted by the Second Republic to retain and attract investors in different economic sectors where various projects, new and existing, are at various stages of development. As Zimbabwe negotiates the tail end of the maze of bottlenecks laid in its way over nearly two decades of meltdown, isolation and Western economic embargo, there is no denying the Government has successfully laid a firm foundation, including through massive investments in key infrastructure and enablers, to touch off rapid economic growth going forward. Chief executive Tafadzwa Chinamo said ZIDA will continue to contribute to the improvement of timelines to receive and process investor applications and provide continuous aftercare, which will create an almost seamless platform that allows investors to be onboarded quickly into the country. ZIDA is a statutory body established after the enactment of the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency Act, which was signed into law in February 2020. The agency’s main mandate is to promote and protect investment in the country in line with President Mnangagwa’s administration’s policy thrust of economic diplomacy. Prior to the establishment of ZIDA, the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA) was the institution charged with investment promotion, but its success was limited by the fact that the approval authority was not exactly centralised under one roof. ReadMore