A new beginning

With the Southern African Development Community set to become a common market within three years and a monetary union by 2016 - and with the launch of a single currency among the 15 member states by 2018, Zimbabwe is poised to receive great economic benefits in the near future.

Having recorded growth of 6 percent last year, the southern African country of 12.6 million people continues to show the international community it is ready to do business. The Zimbabwean dollar was decommissioned in February 2009, and the US dollar, the euro, the British pound and South African rand accepted as legal tender, which opened many doors for investors, and transformed the country into Africa's new investment hotspot.