Zimbabwe: Too soon to talk about green shoots, but 'some signs of improvement'

Harare, Zimbabwe - There haven't been many positive signs from Zimbabwe for a long time, but parts of the leather value chain are showing incremental improvements, according to Michelle Wilson of Prime Sole.
      For one thing, the number of soles being manufactured annually is definitely on the rise, and the skill set in shoe making has risen over the past  decade.
      For another, some of the dozens of informal footwear manufacturers have grown to the extent that they should now be viewed as formal.
      "There are some very talented shoemakers out there," she said, singling out footwear manufacturers Millenium Footwear and Shoe Pack in Bulawayo.
      And school shoes - with safety footwear and 'Christmas shoes', 1 of the 3 pillars of the Zimbabwean footwear industry - are doing well, she said. "We have 4 different school shoe moulds, and we're working on another. Despite everything, the industry is growing."
      She said the country's informal sector was very big. "Official unemployment here is around 90%, so the informal sector has become immeasurable."
      Other signs of improvement include "quite a lot" of repairs to major roads - which has been matched by the informal sector: in some suburbs, residents pay people to repair their roads.
      A Zimbabwean Government initiative has been to mint and sell 9 500 gold coins, raising around Z$7 billion, she said. The government had hoped to sell them for US dollars, but buyers preferred to use local currency. "It pulled back the rate between US and Zim dollars. We were heading for hyper inflation again, but the rate has been stable for 5 or 6 weeks. It's brought about a slight upturn and a corresponding decrease in inflation.