What: Training Workshop and High-Level Policy Dialogue on Illicit Financial Flows and Resource-Backed Loans in Zimbabwe
Who: African Development Bank's GONAT Project; Government of Zimbabwe
When: 3-5 September 2025
Where: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (in-person)
The African Development Bank and the Government of Zimbabwe will host a three-day training workshop and policy dialogue to address illicit financial flows (IFFs) and resource-backed loans (RBLs) in the country's natural resources sector.
The event, which will take place as part of the Bank's Governing Natural Resource Outflows for Enhanced Economic Resilience in Fragile and Transitional Countries (GONAT) project, will help build the capacity of Zimbabwean government officials to effectively monitor, analyze, and govern the country's natural resource sectors.
The first two days will incorporate a technical training program. The final day will feature a policy dialogue bringing together government officials, private sector, civil society, women entrepreneurs and organizations, local communities, and other stakeholders.
The training program will be structured along two main tracks: one focused on monitoring and controlling illicit activities within the natural resource sector, and the second on analyzing, negotiating, and managing resource-backed loans.
It will also empower participants, drawn from government ministries and agencies involved in fiscal management, debt management, revenue collection, central banking, anti-corruption, natural resources management, and the legislature, to share lessons and experiences with their peers and colleagues to reinforce institutional learning and sustainability.
The policy dialogue is expected to disseminate findings and policy recommendations, integrate the tools and methodologies covered in the training into national policies, and foster national dialogue and multi-stakeholder actions on governing natural resource outflows.
Illicit financial flows remain a significant barrier to sustainable economic development in resource-rich African nations. The event marks a crucial step in developing Zimbabwe's capacity to address these challenges through coordinated responses.
The Zimbabwe event will be the fifth in a series. Previous sessions took place in Central African Republic (10-13 June), Sierra Leone (8-11 July), Chad (21-25 July) and Mozambique (26-29 August).
About GONAT
The Governing Natural Resource Outflows for Enhanced Economic Resilience in Fragile and Transitional Countries (GONAT) project is the flagship project of the African Development Bank's African Natural Resources Management and Investment Centre (ECNR). It is designed to strengthen governance in the natural resource sectors across fragile and transitional countries, specifically in Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe, addressing critical challenges such as illicit natural resource trade, governance of resource-backed loans, and debt management, with the overarching goal of fostering economic resilience.
