Zimbabwe is a poor country. That's true. But not entirely. It is increasingly trying to improve its agriculture (both subsistence and commercial) from within, expand mining for export income and use this as a starting point for foreward integrated local value chains , re-establish basic industries and encourage small and medium-sized enterprises. (Translation German to English was supported by deepl.)
Zimbabweans were already growing tobacco in the 19th century. That was before the occupation by the settlers. Today, 3 million of Zimbabwe's 16 million inhabitants make their living from tobacco farming. It accounts for one third of the country's exports.
A: Arcadia Mine near Arcturus and Goromonzi; S: Sabi Star Mine between Buhera and Mutare; B: Bikita Mine southeast of Mashingo; Z: Zulu Mine near Fort Rixon; K: Kamativi Mine near Kamativi; G: Good Days Mine east of Mutoko; M: M(a)pinga Energy Park in Mashonland West.
Since early 2024, construction steel (carbon steel) has been produced at the steelworks, which has a capacity of 600,000 tons per year, and since early 2025, reinforcing steel (rebars, thick wires, also known as ribbed steel) has been rolled there.
A small company that manufactures billboards and advertising stands in Bulawayo. Advertising banners are designed digitally and digitally printed on plastic film and textiles, while 3D advertising signs are digitally cut or graved and illuminated. Mounts for the boards are welded and painted.
Gold, Iron, Trade
The cultivation of crops, cattle breeding, metal extraction and processing (gold and iron), as well as overseas trade formed the economic basis of the Shona states from the 8th century onwards and of the Ndebele state in the 19th century.
Along the Great Dyke and in eastern Zimbabwe (north of Mutare), there are old sites of gold mining and iron ore processing. The map is a sketch by Peter Garlake of Nyahowke near Nyanga.
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Old trade routes to Arabia and to Asia started from Kilwa and Sofala. Trade from Zimbabwe (mostly gold) to those ports was controled by the Shona.