THERE is abundant capital sloshing around Zimbabwe’s economy waiting to find a home in the mining sector, but a disconnect between available funds and accessible investment opportunities is preventing locals from participating in the country’s mineral wealth, Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa has said.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Speaking at the Chamber of Mines Annual Conference in Victoria Falls, the Deputy Minister issued a direct challenge to mining industry players to look beyond traditional offshore financing and aggressively pursue local sources of capital.
“In our estimation, the monies are there, but there is a dissonance between how people can access your mines,” Mnangagwa said. “Every Zimbabwean who is holding cash wants to participate in mining in one manner or the other, but there’s a huge gap in distance. Our capital markets are the only way that we can bridge that gap.”
The Deputy Minister highlighted the recent launch of Zimbabwe’s first gold-backed Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) as a prime example of how local capital can be mobilised for the mining sector.
“A few weeks ago, we launched our first mutual gold ETF,” Mnangagwa said. “There’s been a call within the room that maybe access to global capital might be diminishing. There’s a lot of capital that is sloshing around within our economy that is failing to find a home and ends up in luxuries.”
The First Mutual Wealth Gold ETF began trading on the VFEX on 8 May 2026 and delivered an impressive debut, surging nearly 40 percent during its first trading session. The ETF opened at an issue price of 10 US cents before closing at 13.94 US cents, with 357,257 units exchanging hands on the opening day.
Mnangagwa said the listing sends “a strategic signal to both local and international investors that Zimbabwe’s financial markets are evolving and becoming increasingly sophisticated”.
Notably, retail investors contributed more than 60 percent of total subscriptions during the ETF’s subscription phase, significantly exceeding the VFEX’s initial public spread target of 30 percent. The minimum investment threshold was set at just US$100, making the product accessible to ordinary Zimbabweans.
“We are trying as government to deepen our financial sector through the creation of instruments that will allow investment, even from our locals,” Mnangagwa said. “We’d like to make sure that we build a homegrown and competitive industry to make sure that the synergies that are there are fully capitalised.”
Policy Openness to Industry Input
The Deputy Minister also addressed concerns raised by outgoing Chamber of Mines President John Musekiwa regarding the royalty framework, which Musekiwa had described as potentially suboptimal.
“I’m not entirely sure, but we always invite players to sit down with the Ministry of Finance and we go through your financial modelling,” Mnangagwa said. “We like financial modelling so that policy is informed by numbers and facts, not by perception.”
He extended an open invitation to the industry: “If, as an industry, there is a widespread feeling that the framework in place is not effective, our doors are always open.”
The Deputy Minister noted that over the past five years, the mining sector has recorded robust and sustained performance, with average growth estimated at around 9 percent annually. The PGM sector remains one of the most important export sectors, contributing significantly to foreign currency earnings.
He reaffirmed government’s commitment to maintaining Zimbabwe’s attractiveness as a competitive mining investment destination while ensuring the country derives fair, sustainable value from its finite mineral resources.
The mining sector continues to benefit from various tax incentives, including accelerated depreciation of capital assets, indefinite carry-forward of losses, 0 percent customs duty on imported capital equipment, and deferment of VAT for up to three years on projects with longer gestation periods.
On foreign exchange, Mnangagwa acknowledged delays in the payment of surrender portions of export proceeds, an issue raised by the outgoing Chamber president.
“I believe something has been happening in the last few weeks. If it hasn’t been happening as we’ve been briefed, then we need to continue discussing that,” he said.
Under the current framework, mining exporters retain 70 percent of their export proceeds in foreign currency, with the remaining 30 percent surrendered to formal foreign exchange markets at the prevailing official exchange rate.
The Deputy Minister emphasised that the future of Zimbabwe’s mining sector lies not only in extraction but also in downstream processing, refining and industrial development, particularly in strategic minerals such as PGMs and lithium.
“Beneficiation investments require substantial capital, advanced technologies, and long-term financing arrangements,” he said. “Government remains committed to continuously strengthening policy frameworks that support value addition and maximise domestic value retention.”
The conference, running under the theme “Unlock Value, Maximise Benefits, Sustain Growth”, brought together mining executives, investors, policymakers and industry suppliers at a time when the sector has become the country’s strongest lever for economic growth and foreign currency generation.
“As government advances the beneficiation and value addition agenda, the alignment between fiscal policy and foreign exchange policy becomes increasingly important,” Mnangagwa said.
