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Harare- Zimbabwe has exported USD 847,129 worth of fresh avocados in April 2026, the highest April opening value in over six-years, and the second-highest single monthly value after June 2021’s USD 820,614. That comparison matters for the correct reason, March and April are the opening months of Zimbabwe’s avocado harvest window, which runs from April through August across the Eastern Highlands production zones of Manicaland Province.

When the opening month of the harvest season posts its best result in over six years , it signals not merely a good month but a strong season ahead. The 2026 avocado harvest is opening at a level 168% above April 2025’s USD 315,706 and 97% above April 2024’s USD 430,339. After a 2025 season that El Niño compressed to a total of approximately USD 1.06 million against the USD 2.1 million and USD 2.75 million recorded in 2024 and 2022 respectively,

Zimbabwe’s avocado sector is opening its best season at a moment when the global avocado market is offering prices and demand conditions that no previous point encountered.

Across every year from 2021 through 2025, meaningful export values begin appearing in March or April, peak between May and July, and fall to near-zero by August or September. The seasonal pattern reflects the biology of avocado production in Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands, where the Hass variety and its local cultivar equivalents reach commercial maturity from April onward as altitude-driven temperature differentials during fruit development produce the oil content and flavour profiles that export markets require.

The 2021 season delivered approximately USD 2.52 million across April through September. The 2022 season improved to approximately USD 2.75 million, the strongest full-season performance. The 2023 season contracted to approximately USD 1.91 million, consistent with the early-season drought stress that affected Manicaland’s orchards. The 2024 season recovered partially to approximately USD 2.10 million. Then the 2025 season collapsed to approximately USD 1.06 million, the weakest in six years, as the 2023/24 El Niño drought’s residual effects on soil moisture, tree health, and fruit set produced a dramatically reduced harvest across the Eastern Highlands production zones.

April 2026’s USD 847,129 is the opening data point of the recovery from that collapse, and its magnitude relative to prior April values positions the 2026 season to potentially exceed every prior year in the series if the May through July months track at comparable multiples above their 2025 levels.

Zimbabwe’s avocado export performance must be read against a global market context that is more favourable in 2026 than at any prior point. Global avocado demand has grown at approximately 8% to 10% annually through the 2020s, driven by sustained consumer preference growth in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Middle Eastern markets for fresh avocados and processed avocado products including guacamole, avocado oil, and frozen pulp. Global avocado trade reached approximately USD 3.2 billion annually by 2025, with the European Union absorbing the largest single import volume share among destination markets.

Mexico dominates global avocado supply, producing approximately 2.4 million tonnes annually and accounting for over 30% of global export volume. But Mexico’s dominance in the northern hemisphere market creates a structural supply gap in the southern hemisphere harvest window, from approximately March through August, during which northern hemisphere producers are either out of season or in the early development phase before commercial quantities reach export standard. This is precisely the window in which Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Peru, and Colombia compete for European market access, and it is the window in which Zimbabwe’s Manicaland Eastern Highlands production is timed.

The European Union’s growing preference for ethically sourced, sustainably certified avocados has created a premium price segment that Kenya and Tanzania have exploited through GlobalGAP certification and Fairtrade accreditation, commanding prices 15% to 25% above the commodity market reference for equivalent grade fruit. Zimbabwe’s avocado exporters have not yet systematically accessed that premium segment, primarily because the certification infrastructure, cold chain logistics, and export market relationship development that premium market access requires have not been prioritised at the sector level.

The EU Deforestation Regulation, which came into force in 2023 and requires that agricultural commodities entering the EU market meet due diligence requirements confirming they have not been produced on land subject to deforestation after December 2020, creates an additional compliance requirement that zimbabwe’s avocado exporters must navigate but that also, if met, provides a market access credential that differentiates compliant suppliers from those unable to demonstrate the required supply chain traceability.

Understanding the economic significance of Zimbabwe’s avocado export performance requires converting the trade values into physical production estimates. Average global export prices for fresh Hass avocados in the April to August southern hemisphere harvest window range from approximately USD 1.20 to USD 2.50 per kilogram depending on grade, market destination, and seasonal supply conditions.

At a conservative average realised price of USD 1.50 per kilogram, April 2026’s USD 847,129 implies approximately 565 tonnes of export-grade avocados shipped in a single month. At USD 2.00 per kilogram, implying 424 tonnes. The physical volume is consistent with a sector that, at its 2022 seasonal peak of USD 2.75 million, was exporting approximately 1,375 to 1,833 tonnes across the full season, a production base that is commercially meaningful but represents a small fraction of Zimbabwe’s achievable avocado output given the Eastern Highlands’ biophysical potential.

The Manicaland Province avocado production zone covers the mountain areas above 1,000 metres in the Honde Valley, Chipinge, and Chimanimani districts, where altitude-moderated temperatures, reliable rainfall from orographic precipitation patterns, and well-drained granite-derived soils provide natural growing conditions comparable to the Stellenbosch highlands of South Africa and the Kenyan highlands around Murang’a and Kiambu, two of Africa’s most productive avocado export regions.

The production potential available in Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands has not been commercially developed at the scale that the soil and climate conditions support, and the gap between current export performance of approximately USD 1 million to USD 2.75 million annually and the achievable potential of a properly capitalised and market-connected avocado sector is the most directly actionable agricultural diversification opportunity in Zimbabwe’s current export register.

The 2025 season’s collapse to USD 1.06 million is a structural vulnerability signal whose implications for Zimbabwe’s avocado sector mirror the structural vulnerability that the same El Niño event revealed in the maize and tobacco sectors. Avocado trees, unlike annual crops, cannot be replanted and re-harvested in a single season following drought stress. A tree that experiences severe moisture stress during the critical fruit development period from flowering through fruit set, which in the Eastern Highlands corresponds to September through February, produces a materially reduced commercial fruit crop whose effects appear in the following season’s harvest data. The 2025 season collapse reflects stress from the 2023/24 drought on trees whose fruit was developing through the 2024 dry season.

The 2026 recovery reflects normal season conditions and adequate rainfall through the 2025/26 growing season, confirmed by the broader bumper agricultural performance that Cabinet documented in its May 2026 post-harvest briefing.

The vulnerability implication is that avocado export revenue, unlike tobacco or gold, cannot be stabilised through policy instruments that address annual crop inputs. It requires the multi-year orchard investment and irrigation infrastructure that protects tree health across drought years, and whose absence means that El Niño events continue to collapse the export revenue of a perennial crop sector that has no ability to adapt within the season of stress.

Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands avocado orchards that have irrigation access maintained fruit quality and commercial yields through 2025. Those without it did not. The targeted irrigation expansion in Manicaland’s commercial horticulture zones is therefore both an agricultural productivity investment and an avocado export stabilisation instrument, and the Cabinet’s water infrastructure approval and the ZINWA regulatory reform of 2 June 2026 are directly relevant to the sector’s ability to withstand the 2026/27 El Niño that the Meteorological Services Department has assessed at 88% to 94% probability.

The Value Addition Gap

The AfDB’s Africa Industrialisation Index 2025 finding that food products account for less than 2% of Zimbabwe’s manufactured exports is nowhere more directly illustrated than in the avocado sector. Every kilogram of fresh avocado that Zimbabwe exports at USD 1.50 to USD 2.00 per kilogram is a kilogram of fruit that could alternatively be processed into avocado oil at a value of approximately USD 15 to USD 25 per kilogram of oil yield, since a kilogram of Hass avocado at commercial maturity yields approximately 100 to 150 grams of cold-pressed extra-virgin avocado oil.

The value addition ratio between fresh fruit export and avocado oil export is approximately 10 to 15 times per unit of raw material. Zimbabwe is currently capturing the lowest value position in a product value chain whose premium segment commands prices comparable to premium olive oil in European specialty food markets.

Avocado oil has been one of the fastest-growing categories in the global culinary oils market, with compound annual growth rates of 12% to 15% documented through the early 2020s as consumer awareness of its high oleic acid content, smoke point suitability for high-temperature cooking, and cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications expanded its market beyond specialty retail into mainstream supermarket distribution.

The industrial infrastructure required for cold-pressed avocado oil production is not capital-intensive relative to mineral processing facilities: a commercial-scale cold press operation processing 500 to 1,000 tonnes of fruit per season into oil and dehydrated avocado byproducts requires approximately USD 2 million to USD 5 million in capital investment, a fraction of the USD 400 million lithium processing facilities currently being commissioned in Goromonzi.

The Integrated Provincial Special Economic Zones framework designates Manicaland Province for agro-processing as one of its industrial activity pillars. The combination of that designation, the zone’s avocado production base, the global market demand for value-added avocado products, and the relatively modest capital requirement for processing infrastructure makes avocado oil production one of the most directly actionable agro-processing investment opportunities within the IP-SEZ framework.

It is also one of the few agricultural processing activities that would directly address the AfDB’s critique of Zimbabwe’s manufactured export concentration, generating a food product export in a category currently accounting for less than 2% of the manufactured export register.

The Forward Outlook

April 2026’s USD 847,129 is the best opening the data series has recorded. If May, June, and July 2026 track at similar multiples above their 2025 equivalents, the full 2026 season total would approach USD 3 million to USD 3.5 million, which would be the strongest annual avocado export performance in the six-year dataset. That projection is conditional on continued adequate rainfall in the Eastern Highlands, sustained cold chain logistics capacity to European and regional markets, and the absence of pest and disease pressures that affected some Manicaland orchards through 2023 and 2024.

In absolute terms, USD 3 million in annual avocado export revenue is a small number relative to Zimbabwe’s USD 932 million March export total or its USD 394 million April gold receipts. But the analytical significance of the avocado sector is not its current scale but its growth trajectory, its biophysical potential, its value addition pathway, and its position as a food commodity whose global demand growth is structural rather than cyclical.

Gold prices cycle with monetary policy and geopolitical risk. Tobacco prices cycle with global leaf demand and Chinese buying patterns. Avocado demand in European, Middle Eastern, and Asian markets is driven by demographic trends, health awareness, and dietary shifts that have no obvious reversal mechanism within any investment horizon relevant to orchard development.

Zimbabwe exports gold, tobacco, and nickel in a commodity price environment it does not control. It could, with the irrigation investment, the certification infrastructure, the cold chain logistics, and the processing capacity that its Eastern Highlands biophysical endowment justifies, export avocado oil in a specialty food market that rewards provenance, certification, and quality consistency with premiums that commodity markets never offer. April 2026’s USD 847,129 is the strongest possible opening argument for that investment case.

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JOHANNESBURG/LAGOS – MTN Group is accelerating its transformation from a telecommunications operator into a major financial services player, positioning its fast-growing mobile money business to capture a larger share of Africa’s payments, lending and digital commerce markets.

According to reporting by Business Insider Africa, the telecommunications giant is finalising the separation of its fintech operations in Nigeria and Uganda as part of a broader strategy to attract strategic investors, unlock shareholder value and expand into higher-margin financial services, including direct lending.

The move comes as MTN’s mobile money platform, MoMo, processed more than $500 billion in transactions during 2025, underlining the growing importance of fintech within the group’s long-term growth strategy.

Strategic Investor Drive

MTN is completing the structural separation of its Nigerian and Ugandan fintech businesses, a critical step in facilitating investment from global payments giant Mastercard and other potential strategic partners.

Group Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said the process requires careful execution to preserve value as the company restructures its fintech assets.

“The separations are complex as we have to minimise value leakage,” Mupita said.

While market speculation has centred on a possible public listing, Mupita indicated that MTN remains focused on strategic partnerships rather than pursuing an immediate IPO.

“On fintech, we are open to minority shareholding all the way up to 30%; we are not driven by IPO timelines,” he said.

The restructuring is widely viewed as part of a broader effort to unlock the value of MTN’s fintech operations, which many analysts believe are significantly undervalued within the group’s telecommunications business.

Nigeria at the Centre of Expansion Strategy

Nigeria has emerged as the focal point of MTN’s fintech ambitions due to its large population, extensive informal economy and significant financing gaps among small businesses.

The company sees substantial growth opportunities in a market where millions remain underserved by traditional banking institutions and where demand for digital financial services continues to rise.

Business Insider Africa reports that Nigeria’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) face an estimated financing gap of approximately $236 billion, creating a significant opportunity for alternative lenders and digital financial platforms.

To strengthen its position, MTN has applied for additional licences through its subsidiary, MoMo Payment Service Bank (PSB), which would allow it to expand payment processing, merchant services and point-of-sale solutions.

The company is also seeking greater control over the infrastructure that facilitates digital payments across its network.

Lending Becomes the Next Growth Frontier

Perhaps the most significant shift in MTN’s strategy is its intention to move beyond facilitating loans through third parties and eventually lend directly to customers where regulations permit.

Group Fintech Chief Executive Officer Serigne Dioum said the company is seeking a greater role across the credit value chain.

“We’ve expanded access to credit for more people, but we also want to move further up the lending value chain,” Dioum said.

“Where appropriate, we will seek licences that allow us not only to facilitate loans but also to lend directly to customers and deploy our own balance sheet.”

The move could fundamentally reshape MTN’s fintech business model.

While mobile money platforms traditionally generate income from transaction fees, merchant payments and remittance services, direct lending offers the prospect of significantly higher revenues, albeit with increased regulatory obligations and credit risk exposure.

Industry analysts note that direct lending could become a major profit driver given the limited access to formal credit across much of Africa.

According to Dioum, only between 4% and 5% of adults across the continent currently have access to formal credit facilities.

Building a Financial Infrastructure Business

MTN’s fintech operations have evolved into one of Africa’s largest digital finance ecosystems.

In 2025, MoMo processed approximately $500.3 billion in transaction value while handling 23.3 billion transactions and serving 69.5 million monthly active users.

The platform’s rapid growth reflects broader trends across Africa, where mobile money has become a critical component of financial inclusion and economic activity.

As traditional banking infrastructure remains limited in many regions, telecom-led financial services are increasingly providing consumers and businesses with access to payments, savings, remittances and credit products.

Global investors have taken notice.

MTN’s partnership with Mastercard, first announced in 2023, is widely regarded as part of a broader international race to gain exposure to Africa’s expanding digital payments sector.

The company is also collaborating with Ant Group’s Alipay platform to strengthen its technology infrastructure and enhance merchant services.

Competition Intensifies

MTN’s expansion comes amid intensifying competition from banks, fintech start-ups, global payments companies and rival telecommunications operators.

Airtel Africa, for example, continues to develop its Airtel Money platform and has previously explored a public listing that analysts believe could value the business at several billion dollars.

The growing rivalry highlights the strategic importance of Africa’s digital payments ecosystem, which is increasingly becoming the backbone of commerce across the continent.

Industry observers argue that the battle is no longer simply about telecommunications services.

Instead, it is about controlling the infrastructure through which consumers pay, borrow, save, transfer money and conduct business online.

Regulatory Approval Key

Despite the opportunities, MTN’s next phase of growth remains dependent on regulatory approvals.

In Nigeria, regulators have adopted a cautious approach toward telecom-led financial services, balancing financial inclusion objectives against concerns around consumer protection, financial stability and market concentration.

Additional approvals would enable MTN to compete more aggressively in merchant payments, remittances, credit provision and payment processing services.

Without them, fintech rivals may continue gaining market share in some of Africa’s most lucrative digital finance markets.

A New Growth Engine

For MTN, the strategic direction is increasingly clear.

The company is seeking to evolve beyond its traditional role as a telecommunications provider and establish itself as a major participant in Africa’s financial services ecosystem.

If successful, the combination of expanded licences, strategic investors, lending capabilities and technology partnerships could transform MoMo from a mobile payments platform into one of Africa’s most influential financial super-apps.

As digital finance continues to reshape the continent’s economic landscape, MTN’s push into lending and financial infrastructure may prove to be one of the most consequential developments in African banking and fintech over the coming decade.

Source: Business Insider Africa

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WINDHOEK – Namibia has reinforced its growing status as a strategic supplier of critical minerals after new exploration results from the Uis Project revealed extensive polymetallic mineralisation containing tin, lithium, tantalum, rubidium and caesium, according to reporting by Business Insider Africa.

The findings, announced by Australian-listed exploration company Askari Metals Ltd, emerged from a trenching programme at the K9 pegmatite target within the broader Uis Polymetallic Project in Namibia’s Erongo Region.

The results indicate a broad and continuous mineralised corridor extending approximately 950 metres, significantly enhancing confidence in the project’s scale and long-term economic potential.

The latest exploration campaign returned grades of up to 4,050 parts per million (ppm) tin, 0.29% lithium oxide (Li₂O), 215 ppm tantalum, 2,380 ppm rubidium, and 479 ppm caesium, highlighting the project’s diversified critical minerals profile.

The systematic trenching programme, conducted at 40-metre intervals across the target area, has provided valuable geological data that will inform future drilling activities.

Strategic Discovery for Energy Transition Minerals

The discovery comes at a time when global demand for critical minerals is accelerating, driven by the rapid growth of electric vehicles, battery manufacturing, renewable energy systems and advanced technology industries.

Askari Metals Executive Director Gino D’Anna described K9 as one of the most promising discoveries within the Uis Project.

“K9 is shaping up as a standout polymetallic discovery at Uis. Phase I trenching has confirmed broad, continuous mineralisation over a 950m strike, with standout results including up to 4,050ppm tin, 0.29% Li₂O, 215ppm tantalum, 2,380ppm rubidium and 479ppm caesium,” D’Anna said.

He added that the results substantially reduce exploration risk and improve confidence in the project’s investment case.

“These results materially derisk drilling and strengthen our conviction that K9 sits within a fertile, high-quality mineralised corridor with the scale and commodity mix to capture strong investor attention.”

Industry analysts note that the combination of battery minerals and specialty metals significantly enhances the project’s commercial attractiveness, particularly as global manufacturers seek diversified and secure supply chains for critical raw materials.

Located in a World-Class Mineral Belt

The Uis Project is situated within Namibia’s highly prospective Cape Cross-Uis Pegmatite Belt, a geological region internationally recognised for hosting substantial hard-rock deposits of lithium, tin and tantalum.

The project benefits from established infrastructure, including proximity to the deep-water port of Walvis Bay and the neighbouring Uis Tin Mine operated by Andrada Mining.

Askari Metals noted that the 100%-owned project lies adjacent to the producing Uis Tin Mine, which hosts a substantial JORC-compliant mineral resource and provides evidence of the region’s long-standing mineral endowment.

The strategic location is expected to support future development by reducing logistical costs and facilitating access to export markets.

Growing Investor Interest

Exploration data suggests that K9 represents a continuous mineralised system rather than isolated pockets of ore, an important distinction that could significantly improve future resource estimates and development economics.

The company plans to undertake additional drilling later this year to better define the size, grade distribution and commercial viability of the deposit.

As global competition intensifies for access to critical minerals essential to the energy transition, Namibia is increasingly emerging as a key investment destination for mining companies seeking exposure to future-facing commodities.

The latest discovery at Uis further strengthens the country’s credentials as one of Africa’s most promising critical minerals jurisdictions and highlights the growing role Southern Africa is expected to play in supplying materials required for next-generation technologies.

Source: Business Insider Africa

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LAGOS – Africa’s largest banking group, Standard Bank, has thrown its weight behind the planned public listing of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, reinforcing investor confidence in what could become one of the most significant capital market transactions in African history.

According to reporting by Business Insider Africa, the endorsement comes as the refinery achieved a major operational milestone, recording performance test runs of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, surpassing its official nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

The commitment was made during a visit by Standard Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Sim Tshabalala and senior executives to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Dangote Fertiliser complex in Lagos, where discussions focused on future expansion plans and the refinery’s anticipated initial public offering (IPO).

“We are here because the Dangote Group is a large and important global player and a significant force on the African continent,” Tshabalala said.

“Standard Bank is the largest financial institution in Africa and we have partnered with Dangote on a variety of initiatives. We are here to lend support, to see this magnificent refinery and to discuss Vision 2030 and how we can continue supporting the Group’s growth ambitions.”

Standard Bank Positions for Landmark Listing

Tshabalala confirmed that Standard Bank intends to play a central role in the refinery’s proposed IPO, while also supporting future financing and advisory requirements as the conglomerate expands across the continent.

“As Dangote lists, there is an IPO coming up and we are a leading player in that process,” he said.

“As the Group continues to expand in Nigeria and across Africa, there will be opportunities for financial advisory services and balance sheet support, and we stand ready to provide both.”

The announcement places Africa’s largest lender at the centre of a transaction widely expected to attract substantial investor interest from across regional and international markets.

Market analysts view the proposed listing as a potential watershed moment for African capital markets, offering investors direct exposure to one of the continent’s most ambitious industrial projects while potentially deepening liquidity and participation across regional exchanges.

Refinery Surpasses Design Capacity

The visit also coincided with a significant operational breakthrough for the refinery.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer David Bird revealed that recent performance tests had demonstrated sustained output of 700,000 barrels per day, exceeding the facility’s official design capacity.

“We have always believed there was engineering flexibility built into the design,” Bird said.

“Achieving sustained production of 700,000 barrels per day is a testament to the technical capability of our people and the strength of the systems we have built.”

The achievement strengthens the refinery’s investment credentials at a time when global investors are increasingly assessing the long-term prospects of African industrial and energy infrastructure assets.

Since commencing fuel production in 2024, the refinery has rapidly established itself as a major supplier of refined petroleum products, exporting petrol, diesel and aviation fuel to multiple African markets as well as destinations in Europe, the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Industry observers note that the facility is playing an increasingly strategic role in reducing Africa’s dependence on imported refined fuel products while improving regional energy security.

Expansion Plans Gather Momentum

Management has also outlined plans to expand refining capacity to approximately 1.4 million barrels per day over the coming years, potentially positioning the facility among the largest refining hubs globally.

The refinery’s growing production volumes are expected to further strengthen Nigeria’s position within global energy supply chains while generating substantial foreign exchange earnings through exports.

Long-Term Strategic Partnership

Executives at Dangote Industries highlighted the longstanding relationship between the group and Standard Bank, noting that the bank has supported the refinery project since its construction phase.

Group Vice President for Oil and Gas Devakumar Edwin said the financial institution had recognised the project’s potential from its earliest stages.

“The bank visited us during construction and understood the scale of what we were building,” Edwin said.

“Today, the refinery is fully operational and they can see what their support has helped to create. It is like nurturing a tree and eventually seeing it bear fruit.”

Bird described Standard Bank as one of the refinery’s most important institutional partners and said the visit provided executives with a direct view of the project’s scale and economic significance.

“Seeing is believing, and it allows our partners to appreciate the scale of what has been achieved,” he said.

African Capital Financing African Industry

The strengthening relationship between Africa’s largest banking institution and Africa’s largest refinery reflects a broader trend across the continent, where increasingly sophisticated financial institutions are mobilising domestic and regional capital to fund large-scale industrial development.

For investors, the combination of growing operational performance, expansion ambitions and strong institutional backing is likely to increase interest in the refinery’s planned public offering.

While questions remain over the timing and ultimate size of the transaction, Standard Bank’s public endorsement and the refinery’s ability to exceed its original production capacity have added fresh momentum to what could become one of the largest and most consequential corporate listings ever undertaken in Africa.

Source: Business Insider Africa

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Zimbabwe Police Launch Recruitment Drive Amidst Calls for Public Vigilance and Rebranding Efforts Harare – The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has embarked on a significant recruitment drive for 2026, aiming to bolster its human resources as it continues a comprehensive transformation. This initiative seeks to adopt a new organisational structure and rebrand its image, with […]

The post Massive ZRP vacancies: Constables, Bricklayers, Carpenters, Tilers, Plumbers, Painters, Electricians, Welders, Tailors, etc WANTED first appeared on My Zimbabwe News.