Zimbabwe's central bank says every quantitative target in its International Monetary Fund agreement has been achieved, along with major progress on structural benchmarks, a key step toward ending its financial isolation since 1999.
Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Innocent Matshe delivered the update Thursday in Harare, telling bankers that the SMP's quantitative targets have been met and structural benchmarks have advanced significantly. That program, which started in April and runs for 10 months, is Zimbabwe's formal plan to prove it can manage its economy responsibly.
The name sounds technical, but the idea is simple. A Staff Monitored Program, or SMP, is an informal agreement between a country and the IMF. The IMF sets economic targets, and the country tries to hit them.
No loans are involved. The point is to show the world that Zimbabwe can play by international rules.
That matters because Zimbabwe has been locked out of international credit markets since 1999, when it defaulted on its debts. Since then, the country has had to fund itself without access to the global borrowing system that most nations rely on.
"We have met all quantitative targets and made significant progress on meeting the structural benchmarks agreed with the IMF under the ongoing Staff Monitored Program," Matshe said.
Zimbabwe's history with the IMF has not always been smooth. In 2019 it walked away from an earlier SMP after failing to follow the IMF's advice on its currency. That earlier failure is why the current program matters: Zimbabwe must show it can stick with the plan this time, not just commit on paper.
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The country cleared its first review in July. If that goes well, Zimbabwe could start rebuilding its reputation with international lenders.
The bigger story here is money itself. Zimbabwe has a painful history with currency. In 2024, Zimbabwe launched a new gold-backed currency called the ZiG.
However, the US dollar still dominates everyday transactions. The government eventually wants the ZiG to be the sole legal tender over time. That is a big ambition, but Matshe made clear it will not happen quickly.
He said the shift is not "going to happen overnight" and that "it will be market driven." In other words, the government will let people decide when they trust the ZiG enough to use it, rather than forcing the change.
Matshe said, "Zimbabwe is going to be successful in this program." He also said, "The strong commitment of the Reserve Bank and the government to sustaining the prevailing price and exchange rate stability is critical."
For most people outside Zimbabwe, this story is not about buying Zimbabwean stocks or bonds. It is about what happens when a country that has been on the financial sidelines since 1999 starts to rejoin the game.
The stakes are real. If Zimbabwe completes the program successfully, it could regain access to international credit markets for the first time since 1999. That would open the door to foreign investment and give the country new options for funding infrastructure and growth.
But the timeline matters. The final IMF assessment happens in September, and the program runs for 10 months. Even in the best case, this is a slow process. Zimbabwe has been here before, with the abandoned 2019 program as a reminder that commitment on paper does not always survive contact with reality.
The ZiG experiment is worth constant watch too. A gold-backed currency sounds steady, but the US dollar still rules daily life. A gradual shift to the ZiG will be the real test of whether the new currency can stand on its own.
For now, the official message is confidence. Every target met, major progress on benchmarks, and a clear path forward. The IMF team arriving on September 7 will check whether that confidence is justified.
If it is, Zimbabwe takes a meaningful step back into the global financial system. If not, the country stays in the same spot it has occupied since 1999, waiting for another chance.
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