News / National
Zimbabwe Investment licensing process reduced by 14 days
14 Sep 2023 at 01:35hrs | Views
The licensing process in Zimbabwe has seen significant improvement thanks to the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (Zida)'s new license capturing software, reducing the processing time by 14 days and leading to a 34% increase in the issuance of licenses in the first eight months of the year, with a total of 753 licenses issued.
One of the major challenges faced by businesses and investors in Zimbabwe has been the lengthy and cumbersome bureaucratic processes for obtaining licenses and permits. However, the implementation of the new software has streamlined these processes and resulted in a more efficient system.
Speaking at a Zida stakeholder meeting in Harare, Willard Manungo, the Deputy Chief Secretary responsible for policy analysis, co-ordination, and development planning in the Office of the President and Cabinet, praised Zida for successfully implementing customer relationship management (CRM) software. This software has significantly reduced the license processing time from 21 days to just seven days.
As of August 31, 2023, Zida reported that 309 investors had renewed their investment licenses, while 426 were new licenses. This brought the total number of licensed investors to 753, marking a 37.8% increase from the previous year. The increase is attributed to the efforts of investment analysts and promotion teams in marketing investment opportunities globally.
The total investment value of licenses signed in the first half of the year amounted to US$1.07 billion, representing a substantial increase from the end of the first quarter, which stood at US$760.87 million. Since 2020, Zida has issued more than 700 investment licenses with an estimated total investment value of US$5.65 billion.
Manungo also highlighted that mining remained the most preferred investment sector, with 130 licenses issued, followed by services with 49 licenses. The issuance of new investment licenses was projected to create more than 9,900 jobs, while license renewals were reported to have generated over 22,000 jobs over the years.
Encouraging companies to collaborate closely with Zida, Manungo emphasized the importance of advancing identified investment opportunities and moving projects through the approval stage.
Zida is actively working to enhance its digital capabilities and connectivity with key regulatory agencies and ministries to further streamline and expedite the licensing process, reducing manual handling of applications across different agencies.
One of the major challenges faced by businesses and investors in Zimbabwe has been the lengthy and cumbersome bureaucratic processes for obtaining licenses and permits. However, the implementation of the new software has streamlined these processes and resulted in a more efficient system.
Speaking at a Zida stakeholder meeting in Harare, Willard Manungo, the Deputy Chief Secretary responsible for policy analysis, co-ordination, and development planning in the Office of the President and Cabinet, praised Zida for successfully implementing customer relationship management (CRM) software. This software has significantly reduced the license processing time from 21 days to just seven days.
As of August 31, 2023, Zida reported that 309 investors had renewed their investment licenses, while 426 were new licenses. This brought the total number of licensed investors to 753, marking a 37.8% increase from the previous year. The increase is attributed to the efforts of investment analysts and promotion teams in marketing investment opportunities globally.
Manungo also highlighted that mining remained the most preferred investment sector, with 130 licenses issued, followed by services with 49 licenses. The issuance of new investment licenses was projected to create more than 9,900 jobs, while license renewals were reported to have generated over 22,000 jobs over the years.
Encouraging companies to collaborate closely with Zida, Manungo emphasized the importance of advancing identified investment opportunities and moving projects through the approval stage.
Zida is actively working to enhance its digital capabilities and connectivity with key regulatory agencies and ministries to further streamline and expedite the licensing process, reducing manual handling of applications across different agencies.
Source - newsday
