Zimbabwe Social Registry Support Project

2026-07-22

A well-functioning social registry with adequate household coverage is essential both in normal and crisis periods for accurate targeting and the rapid rollout of key social programs. Such programs include social protection, health, education, agriculture, women and girls’ empowerment, and other sectors that require beneficiary targeting based on poverty levels or household characteristics. Zimbabwe currently has the foundations of a social registry system: the ZISO system (formerly called the Integrated Social Protection Management Information System (ISPMIS)). To fully operationalize this system, large-scale household data collection, streamlined server and hosting arrangements, partnerships with Ministries and Development partners, and capacity building at all levels are necessary. Since the dialogue around Zimbabwe’s arrears clearance process is expected to include significant economic reforms, some of which may have economic and social impacts on poor households, operationalization of the social registry will lay the foundation for targeted social protection programs in the reform period to offset and mitigate the impact on poor and vulnerable households.With financing through a Bank-Executed Trust Fund (BETF) under the the Zimbabwe Socio-Economic Transformation Fund (ZISET), the first phase of data collection for the social registry was completed in December 2025 in the district of Mangwe. The BETF-financed first phase will also extend to the districts of Nkayi and Mudzi with the aim of covering two percent of the population of Zimbabwe (approximately 80,000 households). This proposed grant aims to establish a Recipient-Executed Trust Fund (RETF) to provide financing to government to operationalize the social registry. It will have two components: 1) Social registry enumeration (USD$1.7 million); and 2) IT and capacity building support for the social registry (USD$300,000). Bank technical assistance (ETCs, STCs/ICs, travel, and related expenses) will continue with financing from the BETF mentioned above.

Zimbabwe

2026-03-12