Indian captains of industry, fund managers and entrepreneurs have taken a huge interest in investment opportunities available in Zimbabwe after listening to a compelling pitch by Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga at the ongoing Africa Conclave on India-Africa Partnership.
VP Chiwenga was forced to go beyond the time allocated for Zimbabwe's country presentation as attendees sought to get specifics in various economic sub-sectors.
In the end, the VP had to split his delegation with Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Douglas Mombeshora, Permanent Secretaries for Industry and Commerce and Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development -- Dr Thomas Utete and Professor Fanuel Tagwira -- as well as Mutapa Investment Fund CEO Dr John Mangudya attending to representatives of those who control billions in investment funds.
In his presentation, VP Chiwenga said the theme of the 19th Confederation of Indian Industry, "India-Africa Business Conclave, Creating One Future", resonates well with the conference's shared vision, which is to enhance Africa-India Growth Partnership.
"From the outset, let me inform you that Zimbabwe is geared towards robust implementation of the SADC industrialisation strategy and roadmap to the benefit of the region, continent and the world at large," said VP Chiwenga.
"Under the able leadership of President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, the current SADC Chairperson, Zimbabwe is poised towards becoming a prosperous and empowered upper middle-income society by 2030.
"Key investment opportunities in the manufacturing sector include agro-processing, mineral beneficiation, tyre manufacturing and creating regional manufacturing hubs."
He said specific areas of interest include textiles and clothing, leather and leather products, iron and steel, dairy, pharmaceuticals, plastic waste, and lithium batteries manufacturing.
Zimbabwe is actively seeking public-private partnership investments to boost all the sectors of interest, making it an opportune time for investors to also use the country as a production hub and springboard to launch operations into the whole of Africa.
VP Chiwenga said the huge win-win benefits in establishing business operations outside cities include easy access to land and a cocktail of fiscal incentives.
"Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) contribute to national development and employment creation. Hence, collaboration with Indian investors in this area through benchmarking and technology transfers will be paramount," said VP Chiwenga.
He reminded the delegates that Zimbabwe is landlocked and land-linked as it is centrally and strategically located in the SADC region, providing access to key markets in the region, COMESA and the African Tripartite Free Trade Area.
Indians appear to be more interested in investing in Zimbabwe's digital revolution in all aspects of the economy.
VP Chiwenga's pitch was so good that after Zimbabwe's country focus session, ZimTrade's client advisor Mrs Vivinah Matswetu, who is manning the ZimTrade stand at the exhibition here, confirmed a flurry of visits and inquiries from potential investors.
Many foreign delegates posed questions to the VP and his delegation, relating to a number of sectors but most of them consistently asked about how they could partner digitising the health, agricultural, mining, education, tourism, and SMEs, among other sectors.
The digital revolution is a major Indian economic driver accounting for over 13 percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and India aims to grow the ICT sector to US$1 trillion by 2025, which is 20 percent of their predicted GDP.
Executive vice president -- emerging markets business centre -- Mr Nadeem Panjetan, who moderated the country session, said he has attended several conclaves but was yet to see one that generated huge interest as was done by Zimbabwe.
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Earlier, VP Chiwenga met Mauritius Vice President Marie Boissezon, who offered educational scholarships to chosen Zimbabwean students willing to study in the eastern coast of Africa.
Speaking after meeting VP Chiwenga, VP Boissezon said: "We discussed how we can increase economic co-operation between Zimbabwe and Mauritius.
"We said we need Africa as a whole to be self-sufficient in terms of food. Mauritius also offers university scholarships for Africans and we have also asked that students from Zimbabwe take this opportunity and come to study in Mauritius."
According to a recent World Education Forum report, Mauritius ranks third out of the 38 African countries surveyed for its education systems based on skills development.
