Zim leads the way out of recession

The event will present potential business and investment opportunities in Zimbabwe which can be exploited by Zimbabweans in the Diaspora as well as any other interested individuals and organisations wanting to be part of the expected economic resurgence. To be hosted by Zimbabwe Investor Magazine, The Zimbabwe Business & Investment Forum UK 2009 will be held in Coventry and is set to attract some 200 delegates keen to do business in and with Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has seen a reported estimated 3 million people leave the country for other countries on the back of the economic difficulties of the last 10 years. The same 10 years witnessed a deeply divided political arena which had all but decimated the economic fabric of a country which had been the leading sub-Saharan economy outside of South Africa.

With the advent of a new political dispensation, Zimbabwe is looking to reconnect with the global economic family. The reconnection will involve the re-engagement of the countrys Diaspora population, which constitute the majority of the most skilled labour force. This group of people is seen as key to the recovery and thereafter the development of the economy. Just the enhancement of their skills and the exposure to some global best practices are seen as an opportunity to leverage that economic development. Most have been extensively exposed to some of the worlds best run institutes of business, public services and education.

Zimbabwes current situation is seen as the best opportunity for Zimbabweans themselves to claim a meaningful economic interest in the means of production. A deliberate drive to harness the resources of the countrys Diaspora population partnering their local counterpart is needed to kick-start the economy. International investor funds will then only play a complimentary role to boost the returns of the Zimbabweans themselves.

Despite 10 years of economic decline, the country still boasts some of the best economic infrastructure in Africa. It is a country blessed with a plethora of natural resources from precious metals to a wide range of flora and fauna making it an extremely competitive investment destination. Zimbabwe offers one of the more developed capital markets in Africa and in the Emerging Frontier universe globally. Furthermore it has an active and developed institutional investor base that few other frontier markets have. It is rare in the Frontier Market universe to have a US dollar market. There is therefore no currency risk, said the Chief Executive Officer of Imara Asset Management (Pvt) Ltd, John Legat.

The global recession which has ravaged major western economies has sent many people looking elsewhere for investment opportunities. All countries at the moment have an opportunity to put together policies that will determine the economic balance of power the post-recession era. Zimbabwe is in that position where it can be the leading emerging market coming out of the recession.