Blog #Zimbabwe

In a rather unprecedented move, Econet is planning a shocker, though the move is common offer seas on the some of the biggest exchanges in the world locally it's a rather unsual move. Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Ltd. will voluntarily delist from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, citing a persistent valuation discount to regional peers. Econet has advised shareholders and the investing public to exercise caution when dealing in the company’s securities until further announcements are made regarding the delisting process and related transactions. So what does this really mean for stakeholders?

As we close the year, 2025 has been a year filled with a lot happening in all aspects of our lives from social to businesses. Foreign investment has ramped up notably China investing more in the country (Is it a good thing to have such dependency?) , well a topic for another day. As reported in the media china alone has over 500 new players in 2025 alone further highlighting a trend that has been on the rise and in some instances, unsettling. Well it seems government is taking a turn albeit not in all sectors. Government has banned foreigners from owning businesses in certain sectors giving those who already do to sell off their business, let's take a closer look at what sectors are eing affected by this new laws and what it means for business owners and potential owners.

Have you ever wondered how lightning results, we science has explanations for that but local culture has other explanations too especially during the first days of the rainy season. Zimbabwe is one of the most lightning-struck places on Earth, and a mix of extreme weather and deep-rooted superstition about these lightning strikes doesn't make this any better. To those who have been unfortunate enough to witness a lighting strike closeby will tell that after seeing it upclose you don't really care if it's science or black magic because it's terrifying all the same. So what really is lightning, we are gonna explore both options.

A few weeks ago, the government announced the scrapping of some fees and the reduction of fees in a wide range of areas from motorists fees, to city fees and to even business and agriculture fees but despite the announcement these fees had not yet been reduced raising concerns about the disconnection between central government and local authorities. In another move, the government has scrapped eleven licence requirements and consolidated fragmented local authority permits into a single, unitary licence as part of broader reforms to enhance the ease of doing business, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has said.

It all started in the telecommunications industry when StarLink entered the scene ending the monopoly enjoyed by Econet and Netone, we also radical reactions from these companies introducing cheaper solutions something they could have done before be didn’t because there was no real alternative. Now the same strategy will applied to the energy sector, to help end a monopoly with failed service delivery in most instances. Zimbabwe is poised to finally end ZESA Monopoly, as private companies can now buy and sell electricity to citizens. Let’s hope it will have the same impact as StarLink so here is all you need to know.

To say there has been discrepancies on water bills by councils would be an understatement with a lot of inconsistencies and unfair bills often attributed to guess work, as they had to send people to physically do meter readings. Well we don’t need to point out the flaws in this method as sometimes those sent might not be able to actually have readings for each and every household given in some homes there would be no one during the day and several other reasons. As we did with electricity, water bills have finally joined the club starting with Harare. The City of Harare, in partnership with Helcraw Water Pvt Ltd and Laison Technologies, has begun installing prepaid water meters, a move aimed at improving efficiency and promoting fair billing for residents.

For the past few weeks, as we have covered in our earlier articles, the government has been slashing prices on several fees for things like licenses, city parking and more though the price cuts haven’t come into effect. This comes at a time where citizens are suffering with the deteriorating economy and failing to pay some of these fees, another agency has joined the bandwagon to try and ease the financial issues the Citizens are facing. The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) has introduced flexible payment terms for motorists who are in arrears in terms of vehicle licences. The headline is you can now pay in structured payment plans to help everyone clear their debts.

Ever since the modern day AI got on the scene, it has been impacting almost every aspect of our lives and in business, from finance to the health sector. Some companies have even gone as far as replacing some jobs with AI in a frightening reality check of the future awaiting humanity of a world run by AI. In the latest series of AI driven events, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is adopting artificial intelligence (AI) in its new five-year strategy to transform tax administration, integrate the informal sector and raise the country’s tax-to-GDP [gross domestic product] ratio to US$11,5 billion by 2030. Here is all you need to know.

Some time ago the US announced a list of 7 African countries where no new visas were to be issued for the time being. So basically this meant that those who wanted to apply for new Visas to go to the United States couldn’t expect for officials. In a surprising turn of events the U.S. government announced official application locations for citizens of seven African countries that currently lack local visa services. This move aims to streamline the visa application process for applicants who previously faced the challenge of traveling long distances to access U.S. consular services. So here is what you need to know.

For centuries the standard world map used in schools, offices and pretty much everywhere has been the Mercator projection, a centuries-old map style from the age of sail, still prevails in the internet age. Just in case you didn’t know, it was drawn that way to be easily used for navigation particularly in the sea so generally some of the countries were distorted and their sizes magnified or reduced in size. For example Africa seems like a small continent but the truth is USA, China, South America and most of western Europe can fit into Africa and still leave some space. Relevant African bodies are pushing for the correction of this centuries old misinformation and introduce a map that truly reflect the true sizes of continents and countries. So Here’s what the African Union wants to use instead.

Fraudulent documents are now the theme of the day from fake academic certificates to fake licenses now the ZIMRA Tax Clearance is now being faked. So why does this matter to you?, well a Tax Clearance certificate is something that you need to have when you are running a business whether small or big or if you want to buy or sell properties, it’s an important document but if you are caught with a fake document you risk jail time whether you unknowingly secured it so it’s always best to know what to look out for. Zimbabweans are being advised to verify all Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Clearance Certificates before using them in any legal or property transaction.

Prior to StarLink entry, Zimbabwe had one of the most expensive data packages if not the most expensive in the world. While the introduction of StarLink might have resulted in changes the problem is still not yet resolved. Some giants like Econet were forced to innovate, coming up with SmartBiz to counter the StarLink threat. While StarLink monthly pricing is cheap, well there Kit to get started has a steep price tag which most Zimbabweans can’t afford in one go, that’s why most Zimbabweans have failed to crossover. But StarLink now offers these Kits for free in Zimbabwe and DRC just like how it has done in several European countries but to get a free kit you have to commit to a 12 month subscription plan. So here is all you need to know.