• Zimbabwe projects at least 8.5% growth in 2026

• Forecast follows IMF staff-monitored reform program

• Inflation below 10%, reserves exceed $1.2 billion

Zimbabwe's economy is projected to grow by at least 8.5% in 2026, its fastest pace in 14 years, buoyed by reforms under a recently concluded Staff-Monitored Program with the International Monetary Fund. George Guvamatanga, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, announced the forecast on Tuesday, February 10, at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

"The economy is now expected to grow by a minimum of 8.5 percent in 2026. I would think it will be in the 9 to 10 percent range, which represents a very strong growth trajectory, supported by ease of doing business reforms and continued recovery in agriculture and mining," the senior government official said.

If realized, this forecast would mark Zimbabwe's highest growth rate since 2012, nearly doubling the 5% the IMF projected for this year. On Friday, February 6, the Bretton Woods institution announced it had reached agreement with the southern African nation on a staff-monitored program to implement economic reforms under its supervision and consolidate recent progress in stabilizing the economy.

Though the program involves no immediate financial disbursement, this informal arrangement between a member country and IMF staff could, if properly implemented, pave the way for a financing agreement or emergency assistance from the multilateral institution.

Consolidating Macroeconomic Progress

The staff-monitored program aims to build on recent stabilization gains, strengthen fiscal and monetary policy frameworks, improve foreign exchange market functioning, and advance governance reforms to support stronger, more inclusive growth.

Zimbabwe entered economic crisis following land reforms in the late 1990s under former President Robert Mugabe's regime, which expropriated large white-owned farms in favor of black Zimbabweans. This triggered the collapse of agricultural production and exports, capital flight, and the accumulation of approximately $13 billion in arrears to the World Bank, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, and Paris Club countries.

Facing economic collapse, authorities resorted to printing money, sparking prolonged hyperinflation and forcing the 2009 abandonment of the national currency, the Zimbabwean dollar, in favor of the U.S. dollar. Still without international donor support, the country has struggled to secure new credit lines and attract the foreign investment needed for economic revival.

The IMF conditioned its financial support in February 2025 on "a comprehensive restructuring of external debt, including clearance of arrears and a compatible reform plan." In late January 2026, the Finance Ministry reported progress in macroeconomic management: inflation fell below 10% for the first time since 1997, while foreign exchange reserves backing the new gold-backed currency, Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), rose above $1.2 billion. The ministry attributed these gains to "strict fiscal discipline and monetary policy coordinated with the central bank."

Walid Kéfi