By Tinashe T. T. Mpasiri | 02 July 2026

“History is not merely a record of what happened. It is a repository of ideas waiting to be rediscovered.”

On 2 July 2016, I shared a Facebook post documenting the proceedings of a remarkable conference held nearly twenty years earlier, in September 1996, in the United States of America. ( https://youtu.be/1nr0mW4_FDA?si=Q7j5rNwqZ0kWR5-i )

At first glance, it appeared to be an ordinary news report covering a meeting of Zimbabweans living abroad. Yet, revisiting it almost three decades later, I found something far more profound than a historical account. Hidden within those proceedings was a blueprint for institution building, one that speaks directly to the challenges confronting Africa today.

As part of the Banking on Africa’s Future – Corporate Heritage Series, we revisit this forgotten moment, not because it belongs to the past, but because its ideas may still belong to the future.

A Nation Looking Beyond Its Borders

September 1996 was a defining period in Zimbabwe’s economic history. The country was pursuing economic reforms, exploring privatization, and confronting an important question:

How could Zimbabweans living abroad participate meaningfully in building their country’s future?

More than sixty Zimbabwean non-residents gathered in the United States to discuss that very question.

Among the speakers was the then Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Comrade Emmerson Mnangagwa. Also in attendance was Zimbabwe’s former Minister of Education, Dr. Dzingai Mutumbuka.

Minister Mnangagwa issued a challenge that remains strikingly relevant today.

“There is a lot of talent sitting outside Zimbabwe, and you are the people.”

He then presented what he described as two possibilities.

“If you have confidence in us, you can come home. If you have no confidence in us, then you should have confidence by investing in Zimbabwe.”

The message was clear.

Even if Zimbabweans chose not to return physically, they could still participate in nation-building through investment.

Yet it was what followed that makes this conference worthy of revisiting today.

An Honest Admission About Empowerment

Minister Mnangagwa openly reflected on Government’s attempts to economically empower indigenous Zimbabweans.

Initially, Government had placed US$100 million at the disposal of indigenous business organisations, including the Indigenous Business Development Centre (IBDC), the Affirmative Action Group (AAG) and the Indigenous Business Women’s Organisation (IBWO).

The expectation was straightforward.

Provide capital, and entrepreneurs would build businesses.

The results, however, were disappointing.

Government revised the conditions, insisting that future funding should finance new projects rather than settle existing debts.

Still, problems persisted.

Another US$400 million was made available, yet Government again found itself unable to account satisfactorily for how those resources had been utilised.

A third allocation, amounting to US$720 million, remained undistributed while Government reconsidered its approach.

The Minister reached a conclusion that deserves careful reflection.

“But most important, we now realize that this is not the best way of empowering our people.”

That single statement represents an important shift in thinking.

The problem was no longer viewed as a shortage of money.

It had become a question of institutions.

Then Came Mutumwa Mawere

Following the Minister’s remarks, African Resources Limited (ARL) Chairman Mutumwa Mawere addressed delegates.

His contribution deserves far greater attention than it has received.

Contrary to what many might assume, Mawere did not begin by asking Government for more money.

He did not argue for larger grants.

Nor did he propose another empowerment fund.

Instead, he proposed something far more fundamental.

He proposed building institutions capable of mobilising, governing and deploying capital responsibly.

He explained:

“We have already set up an infrastructure in South Africa. We want to institutionalize it with permanent staff who will be looking closely into the setup of the fund, the establishment issues, the structure, governance, and the project pipeline, and to be able to come back to investors with concrete information on possibilities.”

Those words reveal an entirely different philosophy of empowerment.

Institutions Before Capital

Notice the sequence.

Mawere did not begin with capital.

He began with:

•infrastructure

•institutionalisation

•permanent staff

•governance

•organisational structure

•project pipeline, and finally,

•investors.

That sequence mirrors how successful investment institutions across the world are built.

Capital is not the starting point.

Confidence is.

Confidence is created by governance.

Governance is created by institutions.

Institutions attract capital.

Capital finances enterprise.

Enterprise creates prosperity.

Financial Engineering, Not Financial Distribution

Perhaps the most important statement made by Mawere during the conference was his closing observation.

“The expat community here is now faced with the challenge of playing a crucial role in the development of their economy by transforming the ideas that emerged from the conference into practical financial engineering.”

This may be the single most overlooked phrase in the entire conference.

Financial engineering is not about financial manipulation.

It is about designing legal, financial and governance structures capable of converting ideas into investable opportunities.

It is the discipline behind:

•investment funds

•private equity

•pension funds

•infrastructure finance

•development finance institutions

•venture capital, and

•public-private partnerships.

Ideas alone cannot build economies.

Money alone cannot build economies either.

Ideas require institutions.

Institutions mobilise capital.

Capital builds productive enterprises.

The Diaspora as Owners, Not Simply Remitters

Another remarkable aspect of Mawere’s intervention was his view of the Zimbabwean diaspora.

Too often, governments see citizens abroad primarily as a source of remittances.

Remittances are important.

They support families and sustain household consumption.

Mawere’s thinking went much further.

He envisioned Zimbabweans abroad becoming organised investors, pooling resources through professionally governed institutions capable of acquiring productive assets and participating in national development.

He was effectively shifting the conversation:

From sending money home…

…to owning the future together.

A Lesson for Africa

Nearly thirty years later, Africa continues searching for answers to familiar questions.

How do we finance industrialisation?

How do we mobilise diaspora capital?

How do we build globally competitive enterprises?

How do we transform abundant talent into sustainable prosperity?

The 1996 conference suggests that perhaps we have been asking the wrong first question.

Rather than asking,

“Where will the money come from?”

Perhaps we should first ask,

“What institutions must exist for capital to trust us?”

Capital rarely follows promises.

It follows institutions.

Corporate Heritage Is About Recovering Ideas

The purpose of the Banking on Africa’s Future – Corporate Heritage Series has never been simply to commemorate companies or entrepreneurs.

It is to recover ideas that shaped institutions and to examine whether those ideas still have something to teach us.

The proceedings of this September 1996 conference remind us that enduring prosperity is not created by distributing money.

It is created by building institutions capable of stewarding capital, inspiring confidence, mobilising expertise and converting ideas into productive enterprise.

Nearly thirty years later, Mutumwa Mawere’s blueprint still poses a challenge to policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors and the African diaspora.

Perhaps Africa’s greatest shortage has never been capital.

Perhaps its greatest shortage has been institutions capable of earning capital’s confidence.

If that is true, then the lesson from September 1996 remains as relevant today as it was then.

History preserved the words. The challenge before us is whether we are prepared to build the institutions they envisioned.

#CorporateHeritage #CorporateLiteracy #TheAfricaIWant #BOAF