Business Reporter
UK –The Zimbabwean government has implored the diaspora community to take advantage of the country’s openness and channel their investments back home.
Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet Willard Manungo said the government has been working flat out to create a mutually beneficial and enabling policy and legal environment which the diaspora community can take advantage of.
Records indicate that the number of Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom is around 40 000 , presenting a lucrative market for investments back home.
“We are in the process of reviewing the National Diaspora Policy of 2016 to align it with the National Development Strategy (NDS1) and the National Vision of achieving an upper middle-income society by 2030. The policy seeks to maximise and broaden the pathways of mainstreaming the diaspora into the national development agenda and make the economy more inclusive,” Manungo said.
“I wish at this point, to reiterate His Excellency, the President’s (Emmerson Mnangagwa) clarion call for the diaspora to go beyond remittance and invest in productive sectors of the economy and the capital markets and earn sustainable incomes for your families back home,” he said. He underscored the diaspora’s contribution to the country’s economy, before outlining various areas providing investment opportunities for the foreign-based individuals.
“The government is actively promoting industrialisation and the development of Special Economic Zones to attract diaspora and foreign investment. Diaspora investors can consider investments in manufacturing companies, industrial parks, or sector-specific private equity funds,” he said.
Official records show that diaspora remittances hover around US$1,8 billion on an annual basis with the category hailed for immense contributions to the economy.
