One of Zimbabwe’s leading fertiliser makers, Windmill, is seeking US$10 million to develop an agro-industrial service centre in Harare as it explores new financing models, including a possible real estate investment trust (REIT).
Chief executive officer Kudakwashe Mundowozi told businessdigest this week the planned hub would bring together players across the agricultural value chain, repositioning the company from a producer to a facilitator of industrial activity.
“The next phase, which we are now entering, is to raise money to start a service centre which we expect to begin within the next six months,” Mundowozi said during a tour of the company by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce.
“Our target is to raise about US$10 million, which will be used to construct a service centre in front of Nemakonde Road,” he said, referring to a site near Westgate.
By Nemakonde Road, the executive is referring to the company’s industrial site, which will anchor a cluster of agriculture-linked businesses as Windmill pivots from survival mode towards rebuilding operations under corporate rescue.
The initiative marks a strategic shift for the fertiliser giant, which has been restructuring its business model in a difficult operating environment.
Beyond traditional funding, Windmill is weighing alternative capital-raising options, including a REIT backed by its property assets. Such a move would place the company among a small but growing group of Zimbabwean firms turning to property-backed instruments at a time when access to conventional funding remains constrained.
The company is also engaging pension funds as potential partners. This move reflects a broader trend of tapping long-term institutional investors to finance infrastructure and industrial projects.
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Early signs of investor interest are emerging, with some clients having already acquired stands within the development and begun preparatory work. Construction is expected to start in the coming months.
“In the next 12 months, you will see structures going up. Some investors have already bought stands and are engaging contractors across industries linked to agriculture,” Mundowozi said.
“We expect a groundbreaking within the next month or so, when construction will formally begin.”
At least one international firm has secured land at the site and is expected to start building soon, signalling confidence in the project.
The development comes amid efforts to rebuild Zimbabwe’s fertiliser and agro-processing industries, which have been battered by years of underinvestment, foreign currency shortages and supply chain disruptions.
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce chairperson Clemence Chiduwa said the sector continues to face structural challenges, particularly in the supply of key inputs such as phosphate and nitrogen.
He cited constraints at Dorowa Minerals and Zimbabwe Phosphate Industries, as well as the closure of Sable Chemical Industries, which have forced producers to rely on imports.
“Virtually everything is being imported, yet our policy is focused on localising value chains,” Chiduwa said during the tour.
Against this backdrop, Windmill’s proposed service centre could help plug gaps in the agricultural ecosystem by co-locating suppliers, processors and service providers, if successfully executed.
