HARARE, Mar. 4 (NewsDay Live) - Global Renaissance Investments (GRI) chief executive officer Ngoni Dzirutwe says the upcoming ‘Zimbabwe Smart Cities Real Estate Masterclass and Expo 2026’ is designed to unlock structured, bankable urban development projects and accelerate private sector participation in infrastructure delivery.
The high-level property and infrastructure platform that will be held in Harare this month will be under the theme ‘Brick by Brick: Building Smart Cities’.
The Smart Cities Expo is a platform that brings together industry leaders, government officials, urban planners, property developers, and investors to explore the latest advancements in smart city development and sustainable urban growth.
The mission is to create a collaborative platform for stakeholders to share ideas, partnerships, and investment opportunities aimed at building smarter, more efficient urban environments.
GRI is a financial advisory firm.
“On 26 March 2026, we are convening policymakers, investors, and developers at Rainbow Towers for the Zimbabwe Smart Cities Real Estate Masterclass and Expo 2026 to move the conversation from theory to implementation,” Dzirutwe said.
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“Zimbabwe’s cities are growing, but infrastructure provision has not kept pace. What we are driving through this masterclass is structured engagement so that projects are packaged in a way that attracts capital.”
The broader smart cities concept in Zimbabwe aligns with national development strategies, especially the Smart Zimbabwe 2030 Master Plan.
The plan defines smart cities as urban areas that leverage technology, data, and integrated systems to boost economic activity, improve mobility and infrastructure, enhance service delivery, and improve quality of life.
Dzirutwe said smart cities go beyond modern buildings and digital systems.
“A smart city is built on integrated planning, housing, energy, water, transport, and digital connectivity must speak to each other,” he said.
“Investors are looking for well-structured projects with clear revenue models and policy certainty. That is the conversation we want to facilitate.”
The expo is expected to bring together stakeholders from the real estate, architecture, renewable energy and infrastructure sectors, alongside government representatives from ministries responsible for local government, housing, and energy.
Industry observers note that Zimbabwe’s urban centres face mounting pressure from rapid population growth and limited long-term infrastructure financing.
Dzirutwe said the expo was therefore expected to focus on public-private partnerships (PPP), sustainable funding models and project bankability, particularly in attracting institutional investors such as pension funds and asset managers.
He added that the private sector must play a leading role in driving innovation and capital mobilisation.
“The future of urban development in Zimbabwe depends on collaboration,” Dzirutwe said.
“Government must provide enabling policy frameworks, while the private sector structures viable projects. This expo is about aligning capital with opportunity.”
The Zimbabwe Smart Cities Real Estate Masterclass and Expo 2026 is expected to serve as a strategic platform for advancing investment-led urban transformation as Zimbabwe seeks to modernise its cities and strengthen infrastructure delivery.