By Wallace Mawire
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA), brought together Government leaders, investors, banks, business leaders and development partners in Bulawayo to help unlock more investment for Zimbabwe. The dialogue was held during the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) 2026 and was designed as a high-level investor engagement platform for around 100 participants.
The event came at a time when Zimbabwe is pushing to attract more capital into sectors that can create jobs, grow businesses and support national development. Speakers said Zimbabwe has strong investment potential, but more money is still needed in key sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, manufacturing, housing, infrastructure, climate resilience and small business.
The dialogue also highlighted the scale of the opportunity. UNDP noted that the global impact investment market now stands at US$1.6 trillion, held by 3,907 institutions, while about 37 countries have already launched SDG Impact Investment Maps. Zimbabwe is now working to position itself more strongly in that space through the SDG Impact Investment initiative being led by UNDP and ZIDA.
Insights shared at the event showed that Zimbabwe has historically been underserved by private investment and development finance. According to the CrossBoundary presentation, past investment has been concentrated mainly in health, the financial sector and renewable energy, leaving several other high-potential sectors still underfunded.
