Zimbabwe is urging its younger diaspora to look beyond remittances that sustain households and consider channelling their earnings into land ownership and long term investment back home. A government delegation including Deputy Minister Kudakwashe Mupamhanga will tour London, Luton, Birmingham, Glasgow and Belfast from 14 to 23 November, hoping to convert more than US$2 billion in annual remittances into homes, businesses and property, through government-approved platforms where Zimbabweans can register as individual investors or as syndicates. The Diaspora Engagement for Youth (DEFY) forum is convened by Sankofa Capital and is open to Zimbabweans of all ages. Nyaradzo Group is the flagship sponsor, with CBZ Bank and Myti Meats Butchers also backing the programme. Mupamhanga, the Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training, will be directly involved, alongside the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Public Works.
The case for the tour rests on a gap between what the diaspora sends and what it builds. Zimbabwe’s diaspora is estimated at more than three million people, and most remittances go to consumption rather than assets, according to a government concept paper on the initiative. The paper adds that many young Zimbabweans abroad want to invest at home but regard existing routes as opaque, fragmented or exposed to land-tenure disputes. DEFY is pitched as the answer. Its slogan urges attendees to “defy” poverty, not owning land and not investing at home. Organisers promise direct access to residential and commercial land, and a chance to meet the ministers, learn how land can be acquired and build networks with investors and fellow diaspora members.
Farai Muvuti, Managing Director of Sankofa Capital, said the aim was to replace goodwill with a workable route.
“Zimbabweans abroad have never lacked the will to build at home. What they have lacked is a clear, protected way to do it. If this tour leaves young people informed, registered and confident enough to invest, we will have shown that the diaspora can be a partner in development and not only a source of remittances.”
The Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training has formally backed the tour. In an October letter to Sankofa Capital, its permanent secretary accepted the invitation to lead a delegation and authorised the firm to raise funds and sponsorship for the programme. The letter also authorised it to lead the mobilisation of diaspora youth, professional networks, student associations and investment syndicates across the UK. The investment framework, known as Budiriro Kumaruva, would give diaspora youth incentivised access to land through Rural District Councils. Registration would run through the Zimbabwe Youth Council, with money held in escrow at EmpowerBank, the state-backed youth bank, and released only against verified project milestones.
A draft software specification dated 20 October sets out how the platform would work. It names Pfura Rural District Council in Mt Darwin as the reference pilot, aiming for 100 to 200 parcels and 1,000 verified investors in its first year. The document stresses that it is a draft for stakeholder review and commits neither the government nor any partner. The pilot council remains subject to confirmation, and statutory rates and fees are open to approval by the relevant authorities. That caution matters. Investors will want proof that title is secure, funds are protected and money can leave Zimbabwe as easily as it arrives. The draft lists land disputes, double allocation and exchange-control delays among its live risks.
The tour opens in London on Saturday with the Sables rugby match at Trailfinders Sports Ground in Ealing. On Sunday, the Minister of Youth Empowerment will be guest of honour at a film screening at Nyaradzo House. Preparatory stakeholder meetings follow on Monday at Zimbabwe House. The delegation then moves north and west. Belfast hosts a community gathering on Tuesday 17 November, followed by a working dinner with diaspora leaders, faith groups and healthcare associations at St George’s Church in Newtown, Birmingham, on Wednesday. Glasgow gets sector breakfast roundtables and a student mixer on Thursday. Friday brings roundtables, networking and an evening mixer at Lyons Community Centre in Luton.
The main event is on Saturday 21 November at Zimbabwe House in London, where the programme will be formally launched. Venues in Belfast and Glasgow are yet to be confirmed. The tour closes on 23 November with a debrief and press conference. For all the branding, the real test is trust. Zimbabwe has long asked its diaspora for money, and the diaspora has long asked for guarantees. Whether DEFY can supply them will decide if this tour produces investors or just an itinerary. Zimbabweans in the UK can register their interest through The Southern African Times.
