Zimbabwe’s government said this week it would increasingly court Asia’s biggest lenders to tap funding to power its ambitious growth plans, in a move that demonstrates the gravity of a US$23 billion debt overhang tormenting Harare.
The debt, equivalent to about half of Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product, is one of the biggest hurdles to Harare’s plans to revive its faltering economy and return it to its 1990s heyday. It was recently described by four influential agencies as one of the worst debt distress cases on the continent.
The burden has effectively locked Zimbabwe out of most Western international financial institutions, particularly as the country remains shut out of concessional global capital markets because of unresolved arrears owed to the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other.
In an interface with journalists from China, where he is leading a government delegation to the 17th annual meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said Zimbabwe was talking to the BRICS New Development Bank (BRICS Bank) — a powerhouse controlled by a grouping of the world’s biggest emerging economies.
He said Zimbabwe had also initiated engagement with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
“To open avenues to finance our growth going forward, it’s important for us to join various financial institutions,” Ncube said.
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“We have applied to join the BRICS Bank and that membership application is being considered and processed. I also visited the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank on this occasion, again with a view to getting Zimbabwe to join this bank.
“We have expressed interest in writing, and hopefully we can then engage AIIB to process Zimbabwe’s application going forward.”
Ncube said the objective was to widen financing options and sustain growth.
“And the idea is always to have choices and alternatives for sourcing capital for both our private sector and also the sovereign, but mainly the private sector, because that’s where most of the growth is coming from,” he said.
Asked by the Zimbabwe Independent whether Harare was pursuing alternative lenders because they would be less stringent than traditional multilateral institutions, Ncube said: “In fact, they are restrictive. Companies cannot access funding from these banks if the sovereign, which is the government, is not a member in the first place.
“So, we are seeking membership so that we and our companies in Zimbabwe could borrow going forward.”
Zimbabwe has sought to re-engage international financial institutions after accumulating arrears, curtailing access to concessional funding from major lenders. The government has been pursuing an arrears clearance and debt resolution programme while simultaneously seeking alternative sources of long-term capital to support infrastructure development and economic growth.
The BRICS Bank was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects. The AIIB, headquartered in Beijing, finances infrastructure and connectivity projects across the world and is owned by its member countries.
Ncube stressed that both institutions are multilateral development banks rather than instruments of any single country.
“The BRICS Bank is not solely owned by China. It’s owned by BRICS countries. And also, if we join as a member, Zimbabwe will also be one of the owners. We will be one of the shareholders.”
He noted that Zimbabwe already holds shareholding positions in several multilateral financial institutions.
“Just like the World Bank doesn’t just belong to the US because it’s based there, we are also shareholders. It also belongs to Zimbabwe,” he said. “The IMF belongs to Zimbabwe. The African Finance Corporation belongs to Zimbabwe. Afreximbank also belongs to Zimbabwe, as does the African Development Bank.”
The minister linked the push for new financing channels to Zimbabwe’s latest growth figures released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat).
“As you know, ZimStat published this week that Zimbabwe’s growth rate for last year, 2025, is now 8,3%. This is the latest and final figure.
“This is steady growth, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, and it is a commendable rate of growth.”
According to him, agriculture expanded by 11,1% in 2025, manufacturing by 16,8%, mining by 16%, wholesale and retail trade by 11%, while the financial and insurance sector grew by 6,1%.
The government is now targeting average annual growth of about 5% through to 2030 as it pursues its ambition of attaining upper-middle-income status.