28/08/2026
Hupfumi Hwedu Champions Black Empowerment as SI 215 of 2025 Reshapes Indigenous Business Landscape
Writes Spotlight Media
The Hupfumi Hwedu Indigenous Resources Association (HHIRA) is taking black economic empowerment off paper and into communities, with a province-wide sensitisation programme designed to help businesses understand, prepare for, and benefit from Statutory Instrument 215 of 2025.
The programme has received high-level government backing, with the keynote address by Hon. Dr. Joram Gumbo, Special Advisor to the President on Monitoring Implementation of Government Programmes and Projects, read on his behalf by Mr. Edgars Seenza from the Midlands Ministry of Provincial Affairs and Devolution.
The first port of call was in Midlands Province, where HHIRA hosted the business community at King Solomon Hotel in Kwekwe. In partnership with the Department of Economic Development and Empowerment and SMEs, HHIRA is leading a nationwide roadshow to unpack the new regulatory requirements that will redefine how businesses in the indigenous resources and local economic development sectors operate.
Led by National Chairperson Nyasha Munangwa and a dynamic executive team, HHIRA says the initiative is about more than compliance. The goal is to ensure black-owned enterprises, cooperatives, and SMEs are equipped with the knowledge and support they need to participate meaningfully in the economy under the new law.
Delivering Dr. Gumbo’s remarks, Seenza said government’s mandate is to ensure policies translate into real transformation on the ground.
“From the Office of Monitoring the Implementation of Government Programmes and Projects, our mandate is crystal clear: we track, evaluate and ensure that these policy intentions do not gather dust on shelves, but actively transform the livelihoods of our people on the ground,” he said.
He further linked the regulatory reforms to national development targets: “This structured implementation directly fuels our broader national trajectory, because our few critics often doubt the audacity of our dreams, yet our results silence the naysayers. The feasibility of attaining our national aspiration—Vision 2030, to become an upper-middle-income economy by the year 2030—is no longer a distant theoretical hope, but it is an unfolding, measurable reality," he said.
SI 215 of 2025 introduces new provisions that will directly affect how businesses are structured, licensed, and operated in Zimbabwe, with particular focus on indigenous resources and local value chains.
While the full technical details of the instrument is being unpacked during the sensitisation sessions, the framework signals a shift toward stricter compliance, improved reporting, and stronger mechanisms to ensure local participation in key economic sectors.
For many SMEs, the new requirements raise questions about licensing, procurement, reporting obligations, and access to support. HHIRA says that without clear information, well-intentioned businesses risk falling out of compliance not because of intent, but because of a lack of guidance.
Speaking at the Midlands launch, HHIRA National Chairperson Nyasha Munangwa said the movement is deliberately focusing on practical empowerment. “The movement is focusing on empowering the business community in Zimbabwe and unpacking the instruments that help SMEs and established companies,” Munangwa said. “We cannot talk about empowerment if our people do not understand the laws that govern business. SI 215 of 2025 is here, and our job is to make sure no one is left behind,” he noted.
Munangwa added that HHIRA sees itself as a bridge between government policy and business implementation. “The goal is not just compliance. It’s about empowerment,” she said. “We are going around the country so that SMEs understand what is required of them, and more importantly, what support exists to help them thrive under the new framework. Black empowerment must be practical, not theoretical," he said.
The Kwekwe session at King Solomon Hotel drew business owners, cooperatives, and stakeholders from across Midlands. The sessions included presentations, Q&A panels, and one-on-one clinics to address business-specific concerns.
HHIRA confirmed the programme will move to all provinces to ensure no region is left behind, with special attention to areas with high concentrations of indigenous resource-based enterprises.
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