Zimbabwe News Update
herald
2 min read
Nqobile Bhebhe,Zimpapers Business Hub
The development he said, is designed to simplify regulatory processes for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and formal businesses that operate under one roof with multiple lines — such as bakeries, butcheries, restaurants, takeaways, and food factories.
Previously, some businesses were paying as much as US$2 300 for a food factory licence alone.
“As announced on the 10th of September 2025, the Government of Zimbabwe is continuing with Ease of Doing Business and Regulatory Fees Reforms for all sectors. To date, Government has announced these reforms for the Livestock, Tourism and Transport Sectors, and is now moving on to the Wholesale and Retail Sectors,” said Prof Ncube in a statement on Friday.
He said the reforms aim to remove duplication and streamline approvals, particularly within the retail sector — one of Zimbabwe’s fastest-growing industries.
“The retail sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in Zimbabwe, and to further strengthen it, Government has converged to remove the fragmentation of licences, consolidating several retail licences into one shop licence and reducing the number of authorities involved in the clearance process to one,” he said.
Among the major reforms bottle store licences are no longer required for bottle stores operating within licensed retail shops.
Retail and wholesale licences will now be combined into a single licence for shops conducting both operations.
Factory and retail licences have been merged for integrated businesses operating from the same premises, reducing regulatory and compliance costs.
ZTA licence requirements for supermarkets have been scrapped, now applying only to tourist-designated businesses.
Prof Ncube added that the reforms also extend to other sectors.
“Hotel, lodges and other tourism business licence fees have been reviewed downwards by 50 percent under the review of the Tourism and Transport sectors and further capped to a maximum of US$500 per business,” he said.
