Local content saving Zimbabwe US$500m a year

Zimbabwe's Local Content Strategy is breathing new life into the iron and steel sector, delivering measurable gains through job creation, reduced imports and strengthened domestic value chains.

Anchored on the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), the policy framework prioritises domestic production, value addition and beneficiation. In the iron and steel industry, the results are becoming increasingly visible.

The revival of production has stimulated employment across the entire value chain — from iron ore mining and smelting to rolling, fabrication and downstream engineering industries. Finished products such as reinforcement bars (rebar), wire rods, structural steel and fabricated mining components are now being produced locally, generating both direct and indirect jobs.

Thousands of workers are employed in steel plants, foundries, rolling mills and engineering workshops. Additional employment has been created in transport, logistics, maintenance, equipment supply, energy services and small-to-medium enterprises supporting the sector.

NDS2 explicitly recognises the iron and steel value chain as a catalyst for downstream industries, including foundries, metal fabricators, assemblers, casting, tool and die makers, electricals and general engineering sub-sectors. Government has committed to prioritising local procurement, requiring public infrastructure projects to source iron and steel materials from domestic producers.

In early February, Industry and Commerce Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu toured Pump and Steel Supplies, a Bulawayo-based engineering and mining products manufacturer operating in the Belmont, Donnington and Thorngrove industrial areas. The company has a manufacturing capacity exceeding 36 000 tonnes per annum.

During the visit, Minister Ndlovu said the company exemplifies the importance of building and protecting domestic value chains to sustain industrial growth and advance Vision 2030.

Pump and Steel Supplies' business development and brand manager, Ms Linda Chikerema, stressed the employment impact of local manufacturing.

"Pump and Steel Supplies has the capacity, skills and infrastructure to manufacture locally today. What is required is a policy environment that rewards production, not imports," she said, adding that every tonne produced locally represents jobs retained, skills preserved and foreign currency saved.

For years, Zimbabwe exported raw iron ore while importing finished steel products at significant cost, draining foreign currency and weakening domestic industrial capacity. The Local Content Strategy, through tariff adjustments, fiscal incentives and preferential procurement policies, is reversing that imbalance.

Industrialist Mr Kumbirai Moyo said the shift has restored long-term investment confidence.

"We are no longer building capacity for today only, but for regional demand tomorrow," he said.

Major investments are underpinning the turnaround. The Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO) plant in Manhize has an installed capacity of 600 000 tonnes in its first production phase.

Project manager Mr Wilfred Motsi revealed that since operations began, the plant has enabled Zimbabwe to save approximately US$500 million annually on steel imports. Previously, the country imported around 100 000 tonnes of rebar each year; those imports have now reportedly fallen to zero.

According to the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe, steel sales for the financial year ended December 31, 2025 reached US$92,1 million from 146 314 tonnes sold — a 450 percent increase in value compared to the previous financial year.

Economic analyst Ms Alice Chikonzi said the transformation illustrates how local content policies can drive structural change.

"Zimbabwe is laying the foundation to become a steel powerhouse for Africa," she said.

The progress has drawn international recognition. The Compendium of Africa's Strategic Minerals 2026, published by the Africa Finance Corporation, notes that Zimbabwe has moved faster than any Southern African country in leveraging its mineral endowment to drive beneficiation. The report highlights that high-carbon ferrochrome production surged from less than 250 000 tonnes in 2014 to over 1,7 million tonnes in 2024.

Together, these developments suggest that Zimbabwe's Local Content Strategy is not only revitalising a critical sector, but also reshaping the country's industrial trajectory.