Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has announced plans to integrate Zimbabwe’s state universities into the mining sector, in a move the government says will accelerate value addition, innovation and industrialisation.
Speaking at the 2026 International Business Conference held alongside the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, which is running under the theme Connected Economies, Competitive Industries, VP Chiwenga said higher learning institutions would be assigned specialised roles to support mining production systems and beneficiation.
Mining remains a cornerstone of Zimbabwe’s economy, contributing about 14% to gross domestic product and more than 70% of export earnings in 2025, he said.
“The sector is currently experiencing renewed momentum driven by increased global demand for strategic minerals such as lithium and chrome. In light of these trends, our policy direction is clear. Zimbabwe will no longer export its resources in raw form without deriving maximum value,” he said.
VP Chiwenga said the era of exporting raw minerals without securing domestic benefits must give way to in-country value addition, beneficiation, industrialisation and manufacturing.
“We therefore welcome investment into mineral processing plants, refining capacity, engineering services, equipment manufacturing, logistics and downstream industries linked to mining value chains,” he said.
Under the proposed framework, the University of Zimbabwe and the National Mineral Research Centre will serve as primary hubs for research into minerals including lithium, rare earth elements and uranium.
The National University of Science and Technology and Great Zimbabwe University will focus on platinum group metals and battery minerals, while Midlands State University will provide analytical oversight for iron ore and vanadium.
In Manicaland, Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences will host a diamond and gemology suite. Chinhoyi University of Technology and Bindura University of Science Education will specialise in industrial minerals, phosphates and graphite.
The Zimbabwe School of Mines will focus on training the future mining workforce, while Gwanda State University will concentrate on geology and beneficiation solutions tailored to the artisanal and small-scale mining sector in Matabeleland South.
VP Chiwenga said the structured approach would transform universities into centres of industrial solutions, technology development and enterprise incubation, adding that the government was inviting investment to complement the research ecosystem and unlock greater value from the country’s mineral wealth.
The Vice President also highlighted agriculture as central to livelihoods, food security and exports, saying the sector had shown resilience in recent seasons through improved productivity, irrigation expansion and mechanisation.
However, he said the country’s greatest opportunity lay beyond primary production.
“It lies in output processing, packaging, storage, beneficiation and export market development,” he said.
VP Chiwenga added that tobacco production was projected to exceed 400 million kilogrammes this season, up from 355 million kilogrammes recorded during the 2024/25 marketing season.
He said the government was prioritising agro-industrialisation through initiatives such as the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, aimed at increasing investment in processing and expanding manufacturing capacity.