ZIMBABWE will hold an investment conference in London as it steps up efforts to lure foreign investors, a diplomat has said. Speaking at the launch of the Public Private Partnership (PPPs) yesterday British ambassador to Zimbabwe Catriona Laing said the country has received several delegations as there was a lot of interest in the country.
BY VICTORIA MTOMBA
Laing said an investment conference will be held in London at a date yet to be advised by the Office of the President and Cabinet.
“On the UK side, the next step is an investment conference in London that is being co-ordinated by the Office of the President and Cabinet and the Ministry of Economic Planning where the government of Zimbabwe could then move to a practical discussion on what exactly an investor needs in terms of wider policy environment, nitty-gritties on individual contract and to translate that interest into bankable projects,” Laing said.
The proposed conference comes after the British Embassy in Harare urged British companies to consider investing in Zimbabwe as there were “encouraging signs that the government is softening its stance on indigenisation and developing more investor-friendly policies”.
It also comes after two UK trade missions visited Zimbabwe in 2014 and early this year.
Laing said the PPP training that was launched yesterday in Harare was aimed at confidence measures with regard to strengthening UK-Zimbabwe economic ties.
Laing said the idea of the training was to leverage expertise and help Zimbabwe translate the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation into bankable projects.
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The two-day training is led by British expert Malcolm Dowden, a director of law programmes at Law2020.
Laing said the UK Department for International Development (DFID) was supporting inclusive economic growth and was doing that through providing the infrastructure, assets, finance, skills and access to markets needed so that people can earn enough to meet their basic needs.
She said the DFID was giving support through the £4,9 million three-year business enabling environment programme that supports improvement to the business environment through investment climate reform and public-private dialogue.
Laing said there was also a £16 million pro-poor growth programme to tackle the critical shortage of credit facing Zimbabweans.
She said the funds were dedicated to small, medium and large businesses and microfinance institutions with a focus on the agricultural sector.
The funds so far have generated 33 055 loans against a target of 33 800 loans by April 2016 while 81 942 economic opportunities were created.
