Overview
Located at the centre of Southern Africa, Zimbabwe is a dynamic landlocked country with a diverse population of over 16.5 million people. It is rich in natural resources, productive agricultural land and has great untapped economic potential. While Zimbabwe continues to face political and development challenges, focused reforms and strategic support can drive progress.
Our partnership
EU and Zimbabwe cooperation prioritises support to green economic growth, in particular agricultural value chain development in line with the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.
Team Europe in Zimbabwe includes France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Ireland and European financial institutions like the European Investment Bank (EIB) and PROPARCO.
The EU has allocated € 165 million in grant funding towards the partnership in 2021-2027.
EU-Zimbabwe partnership documents can be found in the 'Related documents' section below.
Our key initiatives
- Agriculture value chains
Team Europe is supporting the agricultural sector in Zimbabwe through developing two key value chains (horticulture and traditional grains), promoting greater sustainability and improving access to finance. Initiatives include:
- Developing the strategic horticulture and drought-resistant crop value chains.
- Facilitating investment in renewable energy with a specific focus on these value chains.
- Providing access to credit and finance for SMEs in collaboration with European financial institutions like the EIB.
- Supporting Zimbabwe to adapt to EU export requirements.
- Using the EU’s Erasmus+ education programme to support international learning in climate-smart agriculture.
- Biodiversity enhancement for resilience building
Team Europe is supporting community resilience, biodiversity and wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe. Initiatives include:
- Supporting key trans-frontier conservation areas (Kavango Zambezi, Great Limpopo, Chimanimani, LOZAMAP) through NaturAfrica.
- Strengthening community resilience and supporting conservation efforts in two targeted conservation areas of strategic importance for biodiversity protection.
- Energy
Team Europe is supporting the rehabilitation of the Kariba Dam, a critical source of hydroelectric power for Zimbabwe. This project will safeguard the country’s energy infrastructure and support the transition to a greener economy.
- Gender equality and women’s empowerment
Team Europe and Zimbabwe are acting together to fight gender inequality and gender-based violence as well as promoting women’s economic empowerment. Specific initiatives include:
- Strengthening Zimbabwe’s institutional architecture for gender equality at the national and local level.
- Restoring the dignity of gender-based violence survivors and raising awareness of gender-responsive laws and services in favour of survivors as well as victims of child marriage.
- Empowering women economically through:
- financial literacy trainings
- increased access to financing for women and youth in agribusiness
- supporting the incomes, working conditions, and resilience of women in the informal and microenterprise sectors
- promoting gender inclusive local economic development.
- Governance, democracy and human rights
Team Europe is supporting Zimbabwe’s institutional and civil society capacity to promote and protect human rights and democratic practices. That includes:
- Supporting the effective delivery of social services and justice at the local level.
- Capacity building of Civil Society Organisations, for example working on civic participation, media freedom, transparency and accountability.