Insurance central to unlocking long-term investment : ZIDA CEO
PHILLIMON MHLANGA IN VICTORIA FALLS
Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) chief executive Tafadzwa Chinamo says insurance has become a decisive factor for investors assessing Zimbabwe’s competitiveness, stressing that risk cover is now essential for attracting and sustaining long-term capital inflows.
“This heightened demand for risk cover is driven by the desire for plannable, sustainable growth in frontier markets, which traditionally carry higher perceived risks,” Chinamo said during the Southern Africa Insurance Indaba in Victoria Falls.
“But what may appear as vulnerabilities in emerging economies like Zimbabwe are, in fact, untapped growth opportunities, particularly when viewed through the lens of innovative risk management and insurance solutions.”
Across global markets, investors are increasingly prioritising environments where capital is protected from economic shocks, currency volatility, policy shifts and regulatory uncertainty.
Chinamo said Zimbabwe must therefore position itself strategically to harness these opportunities.
“Because we interact with investors from across the sectors coming from all over the world, they are telling us that there are certain risks that need to be managed,” he said.
“These include currency and profitability risk in the sense of repatriation of profits, policy and regulatory predictability, as in any environment, policies do change and the way they impact businesses is never really certain.
“Therefore, as policy shifts, it evaluates political risk profiles, driving demand for specialised coverage.”
Chinamo said many investors were seeking predictable regulatory processes aligned with global underwriting standards.
“These insights show ways in which the insurance sector can innovate to reduce investment and deepen investor confidence, and we believe that promoting investment into a country will be futile if the environment itself is unpredictable,” he said.
To address this, the ZIDA has intensified its reform agenda to create a more insurable, stable and equitable investment environment.
“Our mission as ZIDA is to make Zimbabwe not just a destination for capital, but a place where capital is protected, resilient and primed for inclusive growth,” he said.
He added that ZIDA had drastically reduced licensing timelines through the One-Stop Investment Services Centre.
“On our part, we have made the licensing process for investors faster and transparent, and we established the One-Stop Investment Services Centre a few years ago to just get the processes done and get all the licensing done from more than a month to just five days now.”
ZIDA aims to streamline approvals further to one or two days through increased digitalisation.
