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Victoria Ruzvidzo Business Focus
THE year has started well for this country with serious interest being registered by foreign investors who have almost been tripping over each other to come and explore business opportunities.

In the last fortnight alone, Zimbabwe has hosted three trade and investment missions from France, Turkey and Belgium, all showing a keen interest to consolidate or re-establish business relations with this country.

I attended a meeting between Government officials, local businessmen and Turkish investors a fortnight ago and the enthusiasm expressed by the investors to do business with this country was quite overwhelming. Last year, investors from the European country made a number of visits here. Already some deals have already been concretised while others are at various stages of finalisation. Turkey is interested in agriculture, construction, mining, manufacturing and other sectors in which they intend to pour millions.

The French business delegation, led by the French business organisation MEDEF International, visited Zimbabwe from January 27 to 29. It comprised representatives of major companies such as Alstom, Bureau Veritas, Eiffage Travaux Publics, Eutelsat, Oberthur and Vinci whose combined turnover stands at $100 billion. They employ close to half a million people.

Such a high profile can only augur well for the Zimbabwean economy, limping from a number of challenges and yet so ready and fertile for a take off towards the stratosphere.

During the visit we got to establish that MEDEF International is not a Mickey Mouse organisation but actually is the most representative organisation of the French private sector at an international level: it represents the French Business Confederation (MEDEF) and its 800 000 companies in the world.

Furthermore, it brings together more than 6 700 French companies already operating in the world, in 70 Business Councils headed by 40 CEOs of major international French companies.

This is by no small measure a powerful delegation from which we can only expect positive results. The firms that came expressed interest in energy, water, transport and general infrastructure development, among other interests.

These are critical sectors that have been highlighted in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio-Economic Transformation as requiring significant investment, particularly in infrastructure development. The French ambassador in Zimbabwe, Laurent Delahousse was also upbeat that much will come out of the recent visit. He is a firm believer in this economy and has remained optimistic that the future is full of promise for this country.

Indications are that over the next few months, more such delegations are coming Zimbabwe’s way. A chat recently with a key Belgian official showed that the European country is also keen to pursue opportunities in this economy. He said a delegation from Belgium is heading this way in April. Already, the response from the Belgian firms has been overwhelming. “When we started planning for this visit we were comfortable with bringing in 6 firms but already we have 23 that have confirmed that they will be coming to this country as part of that delegation,” he said.

All this goes to show that there is something about this country that these investors have seen and believe in and would want to be part of.

They believe that this economy has immense potential which they can tap into as the sleeping giant begins to rise again.

We would want to believe that Zimbabweans themselves should also begin to take a lot of interest in the economy and also begin to invest. The global interest is confirmation that this country is sitting on a gold mine, or is it diamond or platinum and the locals should not be found wanting. Investing in our country is also a show of confidence that will send the correct signals out there. There is certainly no harm in pursuing joint ventures with those that have shown interest to help grow the economy.

Investors make decisions to pour in their dollars based on the ROI (Return on Investment). Therefore, the growing interest simply means Zimbabwe has a good ROI which has attracted foreign investors. It surely follows, doesn’t it, that there is an even bigger cake to be shared for the locals. Let’s consolidate the confidence expressed by the international community in this country and turn this into dollars, jobs, wealth, markets, customers and all that we can, to take the economy out of the woods and into a place of plenty.

And yes, this is not mere optimism or patriotism but it’s a fact that Zimbabwe has it all in terms of resources, skills, climate etc. What is required is to craft strategies that will produce the economy that we all desire to live in and experience. It is possible!

Last week’s interview with Savanna Tobacco executive chairman Adam Molai elicited immense responses. Below are some of them.

WHATSSApp responses:

Hi Vic. Read your article in the paper today and it’s quite enlightening. Good questions met great answers and that really made a difference. I will be your follower. I can tell you have inspired more people thank you. May it be glorified to God and He gives you more wisdom beyond comparison.

Wow, wow, thanks my fellow Zimbabwean. I was thinking about this for so long but never could find someone who could answer me the same things Molai has been raising.

I just read your article on “We need to embrace Business”. Very interesting and definitely thought-provoking.

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Hi Victoria, I welcome the introduction of interviews to your Herald Business focus space. Adam Molai is a straight gentleman.

He outlines painful reality between business and Government in Zimbabwe. You know I am a young businessman and it is painful to see how our economy is failing to make significant positive impact due to extreme political polarisation. I thank you for the article and Mr Molai’s insight.Thanks very much for the interview, after reading I learnt a lot from this article. – William Munorunzika.

Dear Victoria, I enjoyed very much your interview with Adam Molai, it was very informative and educative. – Sam.

In God I Trust!

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