300 Business Tycoons Gather for Investment Conference

The conference theme was: Zimbabwe – The Emerging African Investment Destination.

It was officially opened by the Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai at the five star Rainbow Towers Harare International Conference Centre (HICC).

Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe needed to be more serious about its investment drive and not speak with a double tongue thus frustrating investors interested in the country.

Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur Mutambara, said Zimbabwe had numerous investment opportunities in mining, tourism, education, road infrastructure but needed to publicise this more to investors.

But, Mutambara said, the government needed to have a clear investment policy and not confuse investors who are very wary about putting their money in African nations.

Speakers included Daniel Broby, Chief Investment Officer at Silk Invest in London, in the United Kingdom, Ambassador Albrecht Conze from Germany, Jonathan Chenevix-Trench, Founding Partner, African Century Limited, an investment company focused on building businesses in sub Saharan Africa, Rt Honourable Lord Paul Boateng, Non Executive Director of Aegis Advisory Limited in South Africa and Paulus Deuticke, Investment Director at Virgin Unite (Private) Limited in New York in the United States of America (US).
Top speakers from Zimbabwe included Anthony Mandiwanza, Chief Executive of Dairibord Holdings Zimbabwe Limited (DHZL), banker, Nigel Chanakira, Founder of Kingdom Financial Holdings Limited (KFHL), Shingai Munyeza from African Sun Limited, Victor Gapare, President of the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (COMZ), and Reward Kangai, Managing Director of the government-controlled Net One (Private) Limited Zimbabwe’s second largest cellular telephone network operator.