By Marc Holtzman There is no better time for the United States to reset relations with a foreign country than at the change of an administration. While the new President, Joe Biden, will no doubt have a busy agenda, a key priority should be how to re-engage with sub-Saharan Africa. The good news is that it’s already something about which the president has given a great deal of thought. “Helping Africa capitalise on the opportunities and manage the challenges of a burgeoning population is in our shared interest and provides opportunities for American businesses to access new markets and consumers, including in Africa’s growing cities,” Biden, speaking in 2019 at the Council of Foreign Relations, a US think tank, said. Africa’s role in global affairs is only going to grow in the coming decades, given that by 2050, Africa will account for 25% of the world’s population. In a report last year, McKinsey predicted US$5,6 trillion in African business opportunities by 2025. While risks remain, statistics such as these highlight the major opportunities awaiting potential investors in Africa. No African country is in more need of a reset with the United States than Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe-US relations have been strained ever since the administration of George W Bush imposed sanctions on the late former President Robert Mugabe and members of his inner circle nearly 20 years ago. Sanctions were extended in March 2020, with the US accusing President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government of cracking down on opposition figures and failing to implement the reforms promised when he came to power in late 2017. But missing the opportunity to re-engage with Zimbabwe would be a mistake at both the diplomatic and economic level. The country’s leaders are frustrated that there are no clear targets for it to meet to gain acceptance by the West. Lack of dialogue risks pushing Zimbabwe into China and Russia’s sphere of influence. It would be a mistake for the Biden administration to overlook Zimbabwe as a partner in the region, not least because of the strategic and economic opportunities available to American companies. Zimbabwe has all the ingredients to prosper, untapped human capital with one of Africa’s highest literacy rates, a rich mineral base and some of the best conditions for farming on the continent. Zimbabwe is said to be among the most richly mineralised countries on the planet. It is among the top 10 producers of lithium, the essential ingredient in the batteries that power the technology of the new industrial revolution. More conventionally, it has some of the world’s largest platinum and chromium reserves. The true scale of Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth is one of the last great unknowns in the extractive sector, with large deposits of gold, chromium, coal, tin, copper and natural gas yet to be fully explored. “Unrewarded” reforms For adventurous investors who get in early, Zimbabwe promises to be a highly lucrative market. In more than 30 years of working in places as diverse as Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Rwanda and Ghana, I believe Zimbabwe