Retail sector

• Well developed retail sector with domestic and foreign players, including Spar (Innscor), OK, Afro-Foods and TM Supermarkets
• Small credit portfolios managed larger foreign retailers
• Very strong repayment culture to consumer credit
• Strong preference to smaller, local stores for foods
• Over 80% unemployment

Economic environment

• Economy heavily reliant on mining sector with wealth of natural resources
• Key challenges: uncertainty in 2012 national elections, indigenisation and economic empowerment laws, weak domestic demand for goods, external national debt, limited external lines of credit, high cost of credit, frequent power outages
• GDP by sector: agriculture 19.8%, industry 24.4%, services: 55.7%
• Banks undercapitalised with liquidity for dollars very strained, with loan-to-deposit ratios over 50 percent
• Outstanding debt of $9.1 billion stifling economic growth
• $14 billion needed to upgrade infrastructure

Political environment

• Type of government: Republic
• Head of State: Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) (since 31 December 1987)
• Ideals: African Nationalism
• Establishment of the Government of National Unity (GNU) saw the dollarization of the Zimbabwean economy in 2009
• Political uncertainty over up-and-coming 2012 elections and Mugabe’s possible successor
• Potential for unrest

Regulatory environment

• The empowerment law, or indigenisation, has been implemented in the mining sector and expected to be rolled out to the financial and other sectors soon. The affordability of this program for Zimbabwe government questioned by business community.
• Reserve Bank has recognised high debt as a stifle to economic growth and is implementing restructuring and securitisation programs to reduce