New ZIMREIT Board Targets Growth of Zimbabwe's Property Investment Market

Zimbabwe's efforts to develop its real estate investment market have received a fresh institutional push following the appointment of a new board for the Zimbabwe Real Estate Investment Trust Association, although the sector's expansion will ultimately depend on whether it can translate growing financial market ambitions into accessible investment opportunities and sustained investor confidence.

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) announced the appointments in a public notice, naming Christabel Shava, Group Legal Manager at Terrace Africa, as chairperson and Kura Chihota, a Regional Property Consultant at exP Realty, as vice-chairperson.

The appointments bring together professionals from the property, investment management, legal services, pension funds, taxation and equity research sectors, reflecting the increasingly interconnected nature of the financial and real estate industries.

The other members listed in the notice are Beatrice Moyo, Managing Partner at Mushoriwa Moyo Attorneys; Dr Bekithemba Mpofu, Board Chairman at Revitus REIT; Tinashe Kembo, Managing Director at Arctic Blue Asset Management; Welcome Mavingire, Managing Consultant at Intellego Investment Consultants; Bevin Ngara, Managing Director of Eagle Asset Management Company; Sandra Musevenzo, Director General of the Zimbabwe Association of Pension Funds; Tendai Chigudu, Head of Properties Cluster at Mutapa Investment Fund; Rutendo Jambwa, Equity Research Analyst at IH Group; and Lucia Debra Chipungu, Group Head of Tax at Old Mutual Zimbabwe.

The ZSE said the new board would provide strategic leadership and oversight to advance the association's mandate and promote the growth and development of the REIT industry.

However, the appointment of a new board also raises a more fundamental question about the sector's next phase: whether Zimbabwe can move beyond establishing the institutional architecture of a sophisticated property investment market to building one that attracts meaningful participation from domestic investors and channels capital into productive real estate projects.

REITs provide a mechanism through which investors can gain exposure to income-generating property portfolios without having to purchase, own and manage entire properties themselves.

They can potentially widen access to commercial property investment, provide property developers with alternative funding avenues and create opportunities for institutional investors, including pension funds, to diversify their portfolios.

The challenge is to build investor confidence, demonstrate the underlying value of property assets, ensure credible valuations and disclosures, and establish sufficient liquidity for investors who may want to buy or sell their interests.

These questions become particularly important in an economy where confidence in long-term investments is influenced by currency instability, inflationary pressures and perceptions of country risk.

Businessman Busisa Moyo welcomed the development of Zimbabwe's financial ecosystem, crediting Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube with creating an investment sector that he said had not existed in the country a decade ago.

“Mthuli Ncube has created a new sector in the economy which didn’t exist in Zimbabwe a decade ago. Building a sophisticated financial ecosystem that supports development, entrepreneurs and projects is how private sector expands,” Moyo said.

His remarks place the development of REITs within a broader argument about financial market diversification and the mobilisation of domestic capital to support private sector expansion.

Moyo also expressed optimism about the investment outlook for 2027, arguing that deliberate efforts to improve Zimbabwe's country-risk profile could change perceptions about the economy.

“Next year is going be amazing and as we tackle our country risk profiling intentionally we will see what’s really been going on amid all the criticism and negative energy,” he said.

He urged investors and savers to prepare to deploy their money into the domestic market.

“Brace yourselves. Get your savings dusted up and ready to be deployed in Zim,” Moyo said.

While the optimism points to the potential of a developing investment market, the more difficult test will be whether ordinary savers and institutional investors have sufficient confidence in the available instruments to commit their capital for the long term.

For REITs, that confidence cannot be built on policy ambition alone. Investors need predictable returns, transparent asset valuations, reliable financial reporting and clarity on how income generated by underlying properties is distributed.

The sector also needs to demonstrate that its products can attract investors beyond a relatively narrow circle of established financial institutions and high-net-worth individuals.

Chihota, who takes up the vice-chairmanship, said he was looking forward to working with stakeholders in developing the REIT community.

“I look forward to serving the REIT community in Zimbabwe as Vice Chairman of the Zimbabwe REIT Association,” he said.

He added that, under the leadership of the association's chairperson and with support from the Membership and Marketing Committee, he was open to collaboration with industry players.

“Consider my door always open for the coalition of the willing,” Chihota said.

The emphasis on collaboration reflects the need for coordination between property owners, asset managers, regulators, financial institutions, pension funds and investors if REITs are to become a meaningful component of Zimbabwe's capital markets.

The new board inherits more than an institutional leadership responsibility. It faces the task of demonstrating the practical value of the REIT model, strengthening participation and helping establish a market in which property investment can become a viable channel for mobilising long-term domestic savings.