HARARE — Econet Wireless Zimbabwe is planning to create up to 15,000 new EcoCash agency opportunities by Christmas as the telecommunications group seeks to help absorb Zimbabweans returning from South Africa into the domestic economy.
The initiative, spearheaded by Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa, forms part of a broader effort to identify employment and enterprise opportunities for returnees through mobile financial services, construction and agriculture.
Econet chief executive Douglas Mboweni said management had held discussions with Masiyiwa to identify projects that could complement government programmes aimed at reintegrating Zimbabweans returning from South Africa.
The most immediate opportunity is expected to come from EcoCash, Econet’s mobile-money platform, through a planned expansion of its nationwide agency network.
EcoCash expansion could support 30,000 jobs
Econet intends to appoint 15,000 additional EcoCash agents across Zimbabwe by Christmas, potentially creating income opportunities for about 30,000 people based on the company’s estimate that each new agency can support at least two jobs.
The initiative does not mean Econet will directly employ 30,000 people. EcoCash agents typically operate as independent businesses, generating income through commissions from transactions such as cash-in, cash-out, transfers and other financial services.
For returnees, however, the agency model could provide a relatively low-barrier route into self-employment and small-business activity, particularly for those with retail, financial-services or customer-service experience.
Mboweni said Econet was looking at the initiative as both an employment intervention and a commercial opportunity to expand the reach of its mobile financial-services platform.
EcoCash’s wider network could also strengthen financial access in communities where conventional banking infrastructure remains limited.
Mobile money becomes employment infrastructure
The proposed expansion highlights the increasingly important role of digital financial platforms in Zimbabwe’s informal and small-business economy.
Rather than relying exclusively on conventional salaried employment, the EcoCash model allows individuals to operate small agency businesses while earning transaction-based income.
That distinction is important for Zimbabwe, where absorbing a large number of returning workers through formal payroll employment would be difficult in the short term.
The agency network could therefore function as a form of distributed employment infrastructure, allowing thousands of individuals to generate income through relatively small businesses linked to a national financial platform.
The commercial benefit for Econet is equally significant. A larger agency footprint can increase customer accessibility, transaction frequency and wallet activity while deepening EcoCash’s presence in underserved communities.
Construction offers faster employment opportunities
Econet is also examining the possibility of accelerating construction work at Econet Tech City, potentially creating about 2,000 temporary jobs.
The company has not disclosed the investment required or the duration of the employment opportunities, but construction could provide relatively rapid absorption of workers with experience in building, engineering, logistics and associated trades.
The proposal comes as Econet reshapes its corporate structure following the delisting of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and the subsequent listing of its infrastructure business, Econet InfraCo, on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.
The infrastructure business holds telecommunications towers, property and power-related assets, potentially creating additional scope for investment and construction activity across the group’s asset base.
Agriculture provides another employment channel
Agriculture is the third pillar of Econet’s proposed response.
The group is considering expanding its agricultural technology operations, including production of fruit for export to China. Management said the expansion could create hundreds of additional jobs, although no specific employment target or implementation timetable has been announced.
Agriculture could provide an important avenue for returnees with farming experience while also supporting Zimbabwe’s broader export diversification strategy.
The sector’s capacity to absorb labour is particularly relevant where workers returning from South Africa possess practical experience but may not immediately find opportunities matching their previous employment.
Some agricultural opportunities, however, are likely to be seasonal rather than permanent.
More than 32,000 opportunities possible
If Econet achieves its stated targets, the combined impact of the initiatives could potentially exceed 32,000 employment and income opportunities, comprising the estimated 30,000 jobs associated with the new EcoCash agencies and around 2,000 temporary construction positions, before additional agricultural opportunities are included.
The figure should nevertheless be treated as a projection rather than a confirmed employment total.
Econet has not indicated that all positions will be exclusively reserved for returnees, nor has it provided a consolidated investment budget for the programme.
The distinction between direct employment, agency-based self-employment, temporary work and indirect employment will also be important when assessing the programme’s ultimate economic impact.
Return migration creates pressure and opportunity
The initiative comes as Zimbabwe confronts the economic consequences of a significant return migration from South Africa.
Thousands of Zimbabweans who previously worked in South Africa’s construction, agriculture, retail, domestic services and informal sectors are now back in the country and require pathways into employment, enterprise or productive investment.
The challenge is not simply to provide jobs but to prevent a large increase in economically inactive households and instead convert returning workers into productive participants in the domestic economy.
That requires a combination of employment, entrepreneurship, skills development, access to finance and markets.
Econet’s proposed approach is notable because it does not rely entirely on conventional employment. Instead, it combines digital financial services, construction and agricultural production — three sectors capable of creating different forms of economic participation.
A test for corporate-led employment creation
The programme also raises a broader question about the role of large corporations in responding to structural labour-market pressures.
Government can provide policy support, training and incentives, but private-sector companies ultimately control much of the productive capacity required to create sustainable income opportunities.
For Econet, the challenge will be turning the announcement into functioning businesses.
The success of the EcoCash programme will depend on whether 15,000 new agents can be recruited, financed and supplied with sufficient transaction volumes to make their businesses commercially viable. Construction employment will depend on how quickly projects are brought forward, while agricultural expansion will require land, capital, markets and reliable production infrastructure.
Mboweni has called on other companies to identify similar opportunities for returning Zimbabweans.
The broader economic significance of Econet’s initiative may therefore extend beyond the number of agents it eventually appoints. If large Zimbabwean companies begin treating return migration as an opportunity to expand productive capacity rather than simply a social problem, the influx of workers could become a catalyst for new small businesses, deeper financial inclusion and renewed domestic investment.
For now, Econet’s 15,000-agent target provides one of the clearest private-sector attempts to translate Zimbabwe’s returnee challenge into an enterprise-creation programme.
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