Zido business expos continue to unlock investment opportunities

THE Zimbabweans in Diaspora Organisation (ZIDO) has once again hosted a successful UK-Zimbabwe Business Expo in the United Kingdom, as the organisation continues to unlock investment opportunities for diaspora-based Zimbabweans.
Held on the 4th of this month at the New Bingley Hall in Birmingham, the event brought together government officials, policy makers, businesspeople, and potential investors.
In her opening remarks, Zido secretary Thelma Kapesa, urged people to invest back home as the situation in foreign countries did not guarantee continued reliance.
“… this expo has come at such a time where there’s going to be loads of opportunities, loads of networking opportunities. 
“Our visionary, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has laid down the vision so well. He has given us the blueprint, and he has said that by 2030, Zimbabwe will be an upper middle-earning income economy. And you know what? That vision is actually coming to fruition.
“I was in Zimbabwe a few days ago, and prior to that, I had left Zimbabwe in January. And in a period of about six to seven months, the development that I witnessed is incredibly remarkable,” Kapesa said. 
She encouraged Zimbabweans to take advantages of the opportunities that are in Zimbabwe to develop the country.
The expo, explored various lucrative business opportunities that are found in different parts of the country.
Mashonaland East provincial affairs minister Itayi Ndudzo shared with the attendees some of the many opportunities that are found in his province.
“Our low-hanging fruit in Mashonaland East Province is that we are a rural province. We are an agro-based economy, we produce so much primary products, such as maize, your cereals, we produce milk and we produce the exotic vegetables. Seventy percent of the blueberries that are produced in Zimbabwe are produced in Mashonaland East Province. Fifty percent of all the milk produced in Zimbabwe is coming out of Mashonaland East Province.
“If you come and invest in Mashonaland East Province, it’s certain that if you just do the basics right, you are in the right environment. And we are also the province that produces the best granite in the world,” Ndudzo said. 
He said the country has also witnessed a significant rise in domestic tourism, creating an opportunity for investment.
“So there is an opportunity for you to invest in the tourism and hospitality sector. If you go to Mutoko, there is a hidden paradise where many have taken up the opportunity and have built beautiful rural lodges. They’ve done rural facilities and people are making a fortune,” he said. 
Ndudzo reiterated Zimbabwe’s open for business commitment, further highlighting the country’s vast opportunities in farming and mining.
His counterpart, Mashonaland Central provincial affairs minister Christopher Magomo, urged diasporans to invest in schools considering that the country has a shortage of learning institutions.
“We require secondary schools, we require primary schools. There are quite a number of nurses within you and you are doing good clinical work in this foreign land, come to Mashonaland Central Province, we’ll provide land for you for those clinics,” Magomo said.
He added that the province is agro-based but also big in mining.
“We need investors to come and value beneficiate our chrome. You see, if you are in Great Dyke now and you scoop soil from Great Dyke, 10 percent will be chrome. So, we want investors to come to Mashonaland Central Province, value add the chrome.
“A certain friend of mine, I met when I was having my breakfast said,  I have 5 000 minister, what do you think I will invest in when I come to your province?  And I told him,  just go to the nearest farm or come to my office. I’ll show you a farm that is not being fully utilised. You buy your heifers. Maybe you buy 15, 20. 
“You come back to the UK. Just monitor on the vaccines and dipping. It doesn’t require your presence. You will be just confirming over the phone. After three years, I’ll ask you how many of those will you be having?  That’s an investment,” he said.
This year’s expo, which is the second edition in the UK, was characterised by seminars, an awards ceremony, real estate showcasing, dinner and networking.
This year’s UK expo follows two successful “homecoming” business expos held in Harare in 2023 and 2024.
Earlier this year, Zido also held the South Africa-Zimbabwe Business Expo in South Africa on the 24th of May.
The business expos align with the government’s ongoing call for the diaspora community to play an active role in national economic development by investing back home.