Economic Times ZW

25/08/2026

CBZ Holdings plans to significantly expand its presence in ’s , with a pipeline of , and as the group seeks to leverage its and capabilities.
Group chief executive Lawrence Nyazema said CBZ had been underrepresented in the property sector despite its sizeable and and would now pursue developments across major growth corridors.

23/08/2026

A is a promise about time. changes hands today on the strength of a claim that it returns, with something extra, on a fixed future date. That claim is only as good as the institution making it, and the currency it’s denominated in. ’s bond market — , municipal, corporate and the mezzanine layer beneath all three — is a market in promises about time, in a country where time has repeatedly betrayed savers. Understanding it means understanding why so much still refuses to go long.
https://etimes.co.zw/zimbabwes-bond-market-why-long-money-still-keeps-its-distance/

22/08/2026

Which is why the proposed electronic foreign-exchange trading platform might end up mattering more than another round of currency promotion. The says it’s meant to improve price discovery, efficiency, and interbank trading, while cutting reliance on the as the main broker of foreign-exchange deals. It’s expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026. That’s the right direction. A currency gets stronger when markets get freer and prices get more honest about scarce resources, not when the central bank gets better at hiding those prices. The goal shouldn’t be an obedient . It should be an honest one. If foreign currency is scarce, let the price say so. If it’s abundant, let the price say that too. If is genuinely competitive, let it compete. If people prefer to save in it, let their savings prove it. If find it preferable for contracts and working capital, let their decisions show it. A that wins on its own merits doesn’t need to be propped up by decree. https://etimes.co.zw/analysis-zims-currency-is-improving-but-trust-still-needs-to-be-earned/
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

By Tinotenda Bhunu HARARE – THERE’S a peculiar moment in the life of a currency when the central bank starts telling you that you should trust it. The speeches get more confident. The c…

22/08/2026

There is something deeply inconsistent about a country that might demand five from the person driving the bus while asking nothing comparable from the people debating the national budget. Perhaps the real lesson here is not that politicians need more paper. It is that paper was never a good stand-in for competence to begin with. And if we genuinely believe qualifications should decide who gets trusted with responsibility, we should have the nerve to follow that logic all the way through, instead of stopping wherever happens to be convenient. Five O-Levels to drive a bus. A degree to sit in . Five O-Levels to sit on council. And, for the people actually running the economy, an economics degree and a public exam to go with it. Once that starts to sound unreasonable – and it should – we can finally get to the question that actually matters: Why are we using certificates as a substitute for competence in the first place? https://etimes.co.zw/the-qualification-debate-what-should-we-demand-of-those-who-drive-and-govern/

By Tinotenda Bhunu HARARE – THERE’S something worth reflecting on in the idea that you might soon need five O-Levels to get a professional driving licence. The proposal is now before Pa…

18/08/2026

Strip away the acronyms — GDP, HDI, Gini — and what this chart is really telling you is simple: has built world-class and still hasn’t finished building the roads, towers, and agent networks needed to carry it everywhere. The leapfrogged the infrastructure. Now the infrastructure has to catch up to the technology. Every percentage point of that 21-point urban-rural gap represents real households — often the same households keeping the country’s foreign currency reserves afloat through remittances — paying a to access their own money. Closing that gap isn’t just a fintech opportunity or a policy target. It is arguably one of the most direct, measurable ways to convert Zimbabwe’s headline growth into something that actually reaches the province at the bottom of the chart.

By Jabulani Simplisio Chibaya HARARE – WHY a 21-point gap between urban and rural mobile money use is really a story about who gets to participate in Zimbabwe’s economy — and who is str…

18/08/2026

https://etimes.co.zw/analysis-zimbabwes-greatest-export-is-the-people-it-cannot-keep/ ’S history over the past sixty years reveals a nation forged in struggle, fractured by economic collapse, and sustained by the invisible hands of its scattered children. The two waves—Diaspora I (1960–1980) and Diaspora II (2000–2026)—represent fundamentally different epochs in the country’s journey, yet they share a common thread: Zimbabweans leaving home in search of something their homeland could not provide. The first wave, numbering approximately 100,000 young black , fled colonialism and sought military training in , , and . They returned with weapons, warfare experience, and a singular mission: liberation. Their legacy is independence itself. The second wave, now estimated at over 900,000 to 2 million Zimbabweans abroad, has fled economic hardship, unemployment, and political uncertainty. They have scattered across , the , the United States, and , becoming nurses, teachers, engineers and entrepreneurs. They send home over US$2 billion annually—the second-largest source of foreign currency after exports—sustaining households, financing education, and propping up a struggling economy. But this comparison, while useful, risks romanticising the first wave and normalising the second. The critique this submission invites is deeper: what have we lost, what have we gained, and what does this tell us about the kind of nation has become?

A critique of the diaspora narrative and its implications for national development By Tonderai Godknows Mapfumo Introduction: Two Waves, One Nation HARARE – ZIMBABWE’S migration history…

16/08/2026

THERE are numbers that inform us, and there are numbers that reassure us. Zimbabwe’s 9.3 percent unemployment rate is very much the latter kind. That is the ’s latest figure, for 2025 data now sitting in front of us in 2026. On paper it looks almost enviable. Stack it against most of Southern Africa, and suddenly appears to be doing fine on jobs. But talk to anyone who has watched a cousin, a neighbour’s child, or a whole graduating class send out CV after CV and eventually cobble together some way of making money, and that number simply does not match what they are seeing. https://etimes.co.zw/weekend-read-the-jobs-crisis-hidden-behind-zims-9-3-unemployment-rate/

By Tinotenda Bhunu HARARE – THERE are numbers that inform us, and there are numbers that reassure us. Zimbabwe’s 9.3 percent unemployment rate is very much the latter kind. That is the …

16/08/2026

’s is enormous — by some estimates, it accounts for the large majority of urban employment. These are the vendors, transporters, artisans, and small manufacturers who operate without formal registration, tax numbers, or access to bank credit. They are also, by definition, largely absent from the data that shapes climate and economic policy. When droughts, floods, or extreme heat disrupt supply chains and demand, these firms are rarely surveyed, rarely funded, and rarely mentioned in adaptation strategies. https://etimes.co.zw/the-resilience-nobody-sees-how-zims-informal-traders-are-beating-climate-shocks/

An Economy Adapting in the Shadows By Tonderai Godknows Mapfumo HARARE – IT IS just after six in the morning in a Harare suburb, and a vegetable vendor is already rearranging her stall. The r…

13/08/2026

Africa’s despite its youth population is not an inevitable condition—it is a consequence of failure, structural mismatches, and policy inadequacy. The continent stands at a crossroads: transform its labour markets to absorb a rapidly expanding workforce or face mounting social and economic pressure. The choice is clear. As the aptly remind us: “While our local realities vary, we believe our shared goal—systemic reform, transparent governance, and dignified opportunities—is clear.” With the right policies, investments, and institutional reforms, Africa’s youth can transition from passive bystanders to primary solution providers, leapfrogging the continent into a new era of prosperity. The future is not something to inherit—it is something to build. And Africa’s youth are ready to build it. https://etimes.co.zw/the-demographic-paradox-why-africas-youth-boom-hasnt-brought-prosperity-and-how-to-unlock-it/

12/08/2026

The teaches us that freedom and prosperity are inseparable. The “climate of fear” that Amnesty International documents is a climate of economic stagnation. The “shrinking civic space” is a shrinking space for , discovery, and growth. https://etimes.co.zw/amnesty-report-highlights-zambias-governance-challenges-and-their-potential-economic-cost/
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By Tonderai Godknows Mapfumo An Austrian School Perspective on Amnesty International’s 2026 Briefing I. Introduction: The Broken Promise of 2021 HARARE – IN August 2021, Hakainde Hichil…