eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
CBZ Holdings chief executive officer, Marck Holtzman, has admitted that sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, leading to isolation from international lenders and recent challenges caused by Covid – 19 as the globe responded to the pandemic chocked Zimbabwe, but is glad that the Southern African country is now overcoming the hurdles.
Holtzman, who also chairs Bank of Kigali in Rwanda, revealed this yesterday at the on-going Zimbabwe – Rwanda Trade and Investment conference in Harare.
The conference is running under the theme “Explore, Invest and Export” and is a reciprocal visit by the Rwandese delegation after Zimbabwe’s team visited the East African country in September last year to explore export opportunities.
Said Holtzman: “In spite of sanctions, a lot of headwinds and challenges and isolation from international financiers, Zimbabwe’s economy is now ready to roll.”
Zimbabwe’s economy is this year projected to grow by 5,5 percent anchored by agriculture, increased mining and firming commodity prices as well as increasing exports.
Holtzman said as a result of the Government’s progressive integrated approach, people with various skills have returned in large numbers.
In the agriculture sector, he said CBZ Holdings, took over the government programme, Command Agriculture and transformed it into a commercially viable effective programme named the CBZ-Agro-Yield.
“It is also known as smart agriculture and has been effective. Last year alone, Zimbabwe became a net exporter of grain in more than seven years,” he said.
The CBZ Agro-Yield was previously 100 percent government owned, but had its own issues of abuse.
CBZ has since invested in technologies that can monitor exactly what is happening on those farms and ensure there are no issues of side marketing of crops financed under the scheme.
Holtzman said he has had 25 years of working in emerging markets and the biggest challenge has been access to capital.
The Rwanda Energy Group chief executive officer, Ron Weiss, said there are several options for cooperation in the energy sector between Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
He said the energy sector will always have potential for growth as the sector grows in tandem with economic growth.
“For instance in Rwanda, the economy is growing at an average of 8 to 9 percent per year and this implies increase in energy demand,” he said.
He noted that there is a lot of cooperation between Rwanda and Zimbabwe in energy following the signing of an agreement for the supply of transformers from Zimbabwe to Rwanda.
“This is in line with our goal to achieve universal access to energy in Rwanda by 2024 and we have already reached 70 percent of that.
“Therefore, we need a lot of transformers to connect those who are yet to be connected because we want to achieve our goal,” he said.
Weiss said in addition to the transformer deal, other agreements were made on the supply of smart meters, installation of solar power plants and maintenance.
According to the National Export Strategy for Zimbabwe, one of the key deliverables is to diversify exports.
