Why Zimbabwe Economic Renaissance is missing from the mainstream media

In 2025, Zimbabwe real GDP grew by 8.3% making it the 4th fastest growing economy in Africa South of Sahara according to the IMF 2026 updates. Unfortunately, the world might have missed  it because when the IMF estimated various forecasts in 2025, it was never a thought that Zimbabwe economy would expand that much. Each and every year from 2021 when the Zimbabwean economy grew by a remarkable 7.9%, IMF had to repeatedly review upwards the Zimbabwe economy growth rate because it was always missing the mark.

Why everyone is missing it…

The Zimbabwe economic renaissance is missing from various publications and there is a reason why that is happening, the growth is coming from areas which are not interesting enough for people to read. The recent Zimbabwean economic growth is anchored on 3 things which are, Chinese investments, Gold boom and Diaspora remittances.

Chinese money is flowing in Zimbabwe

The Chinese investments have been extensive in Zimbabwe such that when you think of lithium only, you will miss how much the Chinese are investing in Zimbabwe from manufacturing to mining.

I will talk of a tile company that has been causing jittery in South Africa: Sunny Yi Feng. Sunny Yi Feng is a $120 million tile plant that is probably the biggest in Southern Africa. It exports to up to 10 African countries including South Africa and its cheaper and superior products resulted in Johnson tiles one of the biggest tile manufacturers in Southern Africa closing some of its production. Zimbabwe went from importing all its tile needs before Sunny Yi Feng to be an exporter.

And it gets better….

This company said their operations in Zimbabwe have been beyond good that they will be investing $500 million in a new fertilizer plant in cooperation with Wintrue Investments one of Chinese biggest fertilizer maker.

The story of Sunny Yi Feng isn’t isolated, there is Dinson Iron and Steel Company that is also causing jitteries in South Africa. From building an integrated steel plant with a captive power plant and soon it will be constructing a cement plant in Zimbabwe.

It seems many Chinese companies in Zimbabwe are just doubling down on their investments in Zimbabwe.

There is Huaxin investing in cement, Shuntai in cement, Zhongjin- Heli in cement and power and Xintai in mining industrial parks. Most of these companies are even investing in their power needs making the development in Zimbabwe even more interesting. They are not small companies but some of the largest Chinese companies in their respective industries making a bet on Zimbabwe.

So, why silent on Chinese money?

Chinese capital isn’t that interesting to mainstream media. If Walmart was to open in Zimbabwe, media would go on with that story but the opening of the giant YH supermarket in Zimbabwe has gone unnoticed.

Gold Rush in Zimbabwe…

The story of Zimbabwe becoming the 7th largest producer of gold in Africa is even more uninspiring because most of the gold is produced by indigenous small scale miners. There is nothing much to talk about miners who invest less than $1 million to set up operations though that doesn’t mean they won’t make millions.

What is even more uninteresting is that most of those miners though they may be millionaires, their operations are largely informal. They are moving the economy of Zimbabwe and providing much needed liquidity but noone talks about them that much.

Their money is driving consumption across Zimbabwe and we know that Zimbabwe current economy is anchored on domestic consumption.

Diaspora money….

Remittances to Zimbabwe will reach $3 billion in 2026 from diasporans. This money drives consumption which is also a big part of the Zimbabwean economy. For context, $3 billion was the entire budget of Zimbabwe from around 2011 up to 2013 and by 2018 it was only $5 billion.

People based abroad are also investing in various small businesses from agriculture to real estate.

But there is a story that is gaining traction online.

Nevertheless, there is a story that has been gaining traction and interest across social media and that is a score of white Zimbabweans who are settling back in Zimbabwe. They are not settling only to build Zimbabwe but it’s because Zimbabwe has become more attractive as a place to stay and start a business that is self sustaining.

My Conclusion

The perception across Africa is that Zimbabwe is a struggling poor African country but the reality is that Zimbabwe is an awakening eagle. As people are looking elsewhere for growth, Zimbabwe is actually where it is.