Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Restricts foreign ownership in several sectors

11 Dec 2025

On 11 December 2025, Zimbabwe adopted Statutory Instrument 215 of 2025, which expanded the list of reserved sectors and required existing investors to divest majority ownership to Zimbabwean nationals. The Instrument prohibits or strictly limits foreign participation in a number of business activities, largely in the services sector, including:

  • Retail and wholesale trade

  • Passenger transport services (e.g. taxis, buses)

  • Barber shops, hairdressing and beauty salons

  • Employment and advertising agencies

  • Pharmaceutical retailing and estate agencies

  • Customs clearing, freight forwarding, haulage and logistics

  • Bakeries, tobacco grading and packaging

  • Artisanal mining and borehole drilling

Foreign-owned businesses currently operating in these reserved sectors must reduce their foreign shareholding to a maximum of 25 per cent within three years. Zimbabwean citizens must acquire at least 75 per cent ownership during that period. The divestment is phased, with a minimum of 25 per cent equity to be transferred to Zimbabwean nationals each year. Affected businesses are required to submit regularisation plans shortly after the regulations were gazetted and must comply with the staged transfer framework. Failure to do so may result in enforcement actions, including possible suspension or cancellation of business licences or being barred from operating.

Rather than imposing an outright ban in all cases, foreign participation in reserved or restricted sectors is allowed under strict conditions. These include:

  1. Application for special permits or exemptions through the Ministry of Industry and Commerce or relevant regulatory bodies

  2. Demonstration of contributions to employment creation, technology transfer and sustainable value chain development

  3. Disclosure of true beneficial ownership — with heavy penalties, including fines and possible imprisonment, for false declarations or fronting

In selected capital-intensive sectors — such as retail and wholesale trade, grain milling, haulage, logistics and shipping — foreign participation may still be allowed if minimum investment and employment thresholds are met (for example, $20 million and 200 jobs in retail and wholesale trade). Requirements vary by industry and are intended to ensure substantive economic contributions rather than nominal ownership.

Nature of measure:
  • Entry restriction
Type:
  • Entry and establishment (Ownership and control)
Industry:
  • Primary (Mining and quarrying)
  • Manufacturing (Manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco products)
  • Services (Wholesale and retail trade, Transportation and storage, Administrative and support service activities, Human health activities, Arts, entertainment and recreation, Other service activities)
Inward FDI:
Yes
Outward FDI:
No
Sources:

  • The Investment Policy Monitor provides the international investment community with up-to-date, country-specific information on recent policy developments affecting foreign direct investment (FDI).

    Through its ongoing monitoring of investment policy changes, UNCTAD delivers cutting-edge and forward-looking contributions to investment policy discourse. The Monitor also supports evidence-based policymaking aimed at ensuring that foreign investment contributes to sustainable development. The Monitor also informs the analysis of global and regional investment policy trends featured in the World Investment Report, the Investment Policy Monitor publications and the joint UNCTAD-OECD Reports on G20 Investment Measures.

    UNCTAD has tracked changes in national policies affecting FDI on an annual basis since 1992. Over time, the methodology has been revised to enhance the quality and consistency of reporting. The most recent revision, completed in 2024, further refined the monitoring framework and applied the updated classification to policy measures dating back to 2012.

  • UNCTAD Investment Policy Monitor

    The UNCTAD Investment Policy Monitor database compiles official measures affecting FDI adopted by United Nations Member States. These encompass measures explicitly targeting foreign investment (FDI-specific), as well as general investment measures that have a clear impact on such investment (FDI-related).

    The measures are either reported directly to UNCTAD by Member States through annual surveys or identified by UNCTAD researchers through publicly accessible sources (such as government websites and specialized policy databases).

    The classification of measures as more or less favourable to investors is based solely on their potential impact on investors. The type of measures included in each category are described below. This classification does not reflect any value judgement by UNCTAD on the merit or suitability of the measure.

    Classification of the nature of measures

    More favourable to investors

    Liberalization: includes privatization; lifting of entry restrictions (e.g. opening of sectors to FDI) and entry conditions (e.g. minimum capital requirement); removal (total or partial) of FDI screening or approval mechanisms; lifting of foreign exchange restrictions; liberalization of land access.

    Facilitation: includes streamlining of investment procedures (e.g. one-stop shops); greater transparency of investment-related laws and procedures (e.g. information portals); introduction by IPAs and other entities of new services to assist investors (e.g. linkages programmes, investor visa facilitation or alternative dispute resolution mechanisms).

    Promotion: includes establishment of IPAs or other institutions with a remit as investment promoters and expansion of their mandate; adoption of investment promotion strategy and plans; introduction of PPPs, auctions, and concessions initiatives or framework; introduction of OFDI promotion initiatives.

    Incentives: includes adoption of new tax and financial incentives schemes for investment; introduction of other incentives (e.g. citizenship by investment programmes); adoption of new SEZ-related incentives.

    Other regulatory changes: includes enhancement of investor treatment and protection guarantees; easing of labour or migration regulations concerning foreign hires and key personnel; removal of operational restrictions on investment (e.g. local content requirements).

    Less favourable to investors

    Entry: includes introduction or tightening of entry restrictions (e.g. total or partial ban on FDI in specific sectors); introduction or tightening of entry conditions (e.g. minimum investment threshold, joint venture requirements or State participation in strategic sectors); introduction or expansion of screening mechanisms for national security.

    Treatment and operation: includes introduction or expansion of foreign exchange restrictions; introduction or expansion of restrictions on foreign hires and key personnel; removal or reduction of investment incentives; introduction or expansion of post-establishment requirements for local content; reduction of guarantees for investment treatment and protection; introduction or expansion of restrictions on OFDI.

    Note: Measures are verified, to the fullest extent possible, by referencing government sources. The compilation of measures is not exhaustive.

    Disclaimer: the boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

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