Zim Youth Parliamentary Caucus: Policy Recommendations for Startups, SMEs & the Informal Sector

For the very first time, people aged under 35 will have representation in Parliament to further causes that have been overlooked or not lobbied with the correct context. The Youth Caucus, which is now almost a year old, has been rather quiet regarding the initiatives it wants to bring about.

Meet the representatives

Progress for a population with an average age of 18

Zimbabwe’s population is very young and with that comes a certain responsibility for policymakers to understand the needs that the large proportion of the population has. The current regulatory framework from a business perspective has been tone-deaf to the evolution of business practices.

The country is no longer on par with what is happening around the world and most high-potential startups are leaving the country to seek their fortunes elsewhere. One of the key reasons this has been happening is because there are regulations not framed for the speed at which business is happening in the 21st Century and the environment to incubate innovation of all kinds.

The prevalent legislation of the Company’s Act and its accompanying tax regulations are not suited to entice the informal economy let alone attract and incubate startups. This is made worse by the fact that individuals between the ages of 15 - 34 contribute to the largest proportion of persons “engaged in SMEs on a full-time basis” according to ZIMSTAT.