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Zimbabwe’s drive towards sustainable and inclusive industrialization gained fresh momentum following discussions between the UN Resident Coordinator, Dr Rosemary Kalapurakal, and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Ambassador Tadeous T. Chifamba.The meeting focused on how the United Nations and Government can work more closely to advance an industrial transformation agenda that creates decent jobs, expands economic opportunity for Zimbabweans, strengthens value addition and beneficiation, and ensures that communities benefit meaningfully from the country’s natural resources.At the center of the discussions was the need for a coordinated, whole-of-government and whole-of-UN approach that connects industry with agriculture, mining, energy, climate action, trade, infrastructure and skills development.“Industry is powered, to a larger extent, by agriculture and mining,” Ambassador Chifamba said, underscoring the importance of policy alignment across the sectors that supply raw materials, energy and markets for industrial development.Zimbabwe’s industrialization agenda seeks to move beyond the export of unprocessed commodities by building domestic productive capacity, supporting local enterprises and developing value chains that retain more value within the country. This includes creating opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, young people, women, communities and local suppliers to participate in the economy.The Permanent Secretary highlighted the importance of policies that support farmers and producers while also safeguarding manufacturers’ competitiveness. He noted that economic decisions affecting agricultural imports, fiscal measures and local production can have far-reaching consequences for manufacturing costs, consumer prices, employment and investment.The shared objective, he said, is to bring the relevant stakeholders together to assess the broader economic and welfare impact of policy choices, and to identify practical solutions that protect local production without constraining industrial growth.Dr Kalapurakal welcomed the Government’s emphasis on ensuring Zimbabweans benefit from the country’s resources and industrial opportunities. She stressed, however, that policy certainty, clear communication and constructive engagement with investors are vital to unlocking the capital, technology and partnerships needed for industrialization to take off at scale.“Zimbabwe has tremendous potential,” she said, noting that the challenge is to ensure that policies promoting local participation also give businesses the confidence to invest, expand and create jobs.The discussions explored how local communities can gain more from extractive industries through stronger local procurement, enterprise development and participation in value chains. Rather than allowing mining and other resource-based activities to operate as isolated enclaves, the approach seeks to encourage companies to source goods and services locally and support businesses that can supply their operations.This would enable communities located near major resource projects to benefit not only from employment, but also from opportunities to build sustainable enterprises in areas such as transport, food supply, manufacturing, services and maintenance.A key opportunity identified during the meeting is Zimbabwe’s prospective Programme for Country Partnership, or PCP, with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The Government-led partnership would mobilize UNIDO’s technical expertise and coordinate support from across the UN system and other development partners around national industrialization priorities.Zimbabwe has progressed through an initial screening process for the PCP, and preparatory assistance is expected to support technical missions and further analysis of priority sectors. The programme is intended to be broader than a single ministry or agency, bringing together Government institutions, UN entities, the private sector and development partners behind a common industrial development agenda.Dr Kalapurakal said the PCP could help Zimbabwe access specialized technical support. She emphasized that the UN’s value lies not only in mobilizing resources, but also in bringing together expertise, helping to build partnerships, supporting policy coherence and connecting Zimbabwe with lessons from other countries.The meeting also considered opportunities arising from a UN-supported initiative on critical energy transition minerals. Zimbabwe is among a group of countries selected for coordinated support across UN agencies, creating scope for stronger links between mineral development, renewable energy, industrial processing, environmental sustainability and local value creation.With global demand rising for minerals essential to clean-energy technologies, Zimbabwe has an opportunity to position itself not simply as a supplier of raw materials, but as a competitive producer of higher-value products and services. Achieving this will require investment in infrastructure, energy, technology, skills, environmental safeguards and local industrial capabilities.The UN Resident Coordinator stressed that industrialization should be considered across sectors. Climate-resilient agriculture, food security, energy access, infrastructure, digitalization, skills, governance and gender equality are all essential enablers of inclusive economic transformation.The next UN Cooperation Framework for Zimbabwe (2027-2031), which is expected to guide collaboration over the next five years, provides a platform for this integrated approach. Its priorities include inclusive economic development, climate resilience, agriculture, energy, human capital development, good governance and institutional capacity and gender equality.Dr Kalapurakal said the UN is seeking to focus more deliberately on flagship programmes that combine the strengths of different participating UN agencies and respond directly to Government priorities. Such an approach would ensure that technical studies, policy recommendations and pilot initiatives translate into programmes that can be implemented, sustained and scaled.For Zimbabwe, the message from the meeting was that sustainable industrial growth must be rooted in local opportunity. It must create jobs, build productive enterprises, promote innovation, deepen beneficiation and link rural and urban economies through stronger value chains.Ambassador Chifamba reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to partnerships that strengthen national capabilities and reduce dependence on external assistance. He said that Zimbabwe is increasingly focused on building its own productive base while working with partners to access expertise, investment and markets.As Zimbabwe pursues opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area and assumes a more prominent role in regional and continental economic affairs, coordinated support for industry could help turn the country’s natural endowments, entrepreneurial energy and skilled human capital into broad-based prosperity.The next steps will include continued engagement between the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, relevant line ministries and UN agencies to identify priority areas for joint action. The goal is to develop practical, investable and inclusive industrial initiatives that enable Zimbabweans to participate fully in — and benefit directly from — the country’s economic transformation.