By Advent Shoko
HARARE, Zimbabwe – For many Zimbabweans, Elisabeth Valerio first entered public consciousness as the woman fighting to get her name onto the 2023 presidential ballot.
But there is considerably more to Valerio than that election.
Before politics, she was a scientist, entrepreneur, conservationist and institution-builder whose work stretched from biotechnology and professional development in the United States to tourism, indigenous knowledge, enterprise and community development in Zimbabwe.
So, who exactly is Elisabeth Valerio?
From Science To Entrepreneurship
Valerio studied public health at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and began her professional career as a biochemist in the United States.
Her scientific work included a biotechnology co-invention, and she has carried that scientific mindset into her later work – emphasising evidence, systems, institutions and long-term results.
Her own biography shared with ZiGoats describes her as a “Pan-African systems thinker, institution-builder, scientist and entrepreneur.”
For Valerio, however, the story eventually moved back to Zimbabwe.
The Promise That Brought Her Back
Her return to Zimbabwe was deeply personal.
Valerio says she came back after making a promise to her dying mother to look after a herd of elephants in Dete, near Hwange National Park.
What started as a family commitment became the foundation for a much bigger journey.
She settled in the Hwange area and became involved in conservation, tourism, cultural heritage, agriculture and enterprise.
According to her official biography, she found herself living in an area with little infrastructure and eventually built businesses and initiatives around the surrounding community and tourism economy.
One of the major enterprises associated with her is Gwango, a tourism and conservation venture developed with her husband.
She also founded Gobelo, which focuses on ethnobotany and the development of natural and indigenous products.
Her work brought her into closer contact with communities, traditional knowledge, conservation and the economic challenges facing rural Zimbabwe.
How She Entered Politics
Valerio did not initially enter politics as a career politician.
Her own explanation is that conservation and the protection of Zimbabwe’s natural resources pushed her towards politics.
“My initial entry into politics was because I was trying to prevent Chinese occupation of our land because it had become so widespread and so concerning. It was not benefiting the citizens of Zimbabwe.”
That experience helped transform her from an activist and businesswoman concerned about conservation into a political actor.
She became involved in the formation of the United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA) and eventually became its president. The party positions itself around national unity, dignity, justice, democratic participation and sustainable economic development.
The Presidential Race
It is important to clear up one common misunderstanding.
The 2023 election was Valerio’s first presidential election.
She had not previously contested a presidential election herself.
But presidential politics was already part of her family history.
Her mother, Isabel Madangure, was a pioneering political figure whom Valerio’s official biography identifies as the first woman to challenge the presidency of an African nation. Valerio therefore entered politics carrying a family history of female political participation that stretched back generations.
Valerio’s own presidential bid came in 2023, when she sought to lead UZA into the general election.
Her path to the ballot was far from straightforward.
The Battle To Get On The Ballot
When nomination papers were submitted in June 2023, Valerio’s presidential nomination was rejected over a dispute involving the required nomination fee.
She challenged the decision in court.
The Electoral Court eventually ruled in her favour on 19 July 2023, setting aside the rejection and ordering that she be recognised as a presidential candidate.
The ruling made Valerio the only woman among the presidential candidates in the August 2023 election.
That was significant.
Zimbabwe had four female presidential candidates in 2018. In 2023, Valerio was the sole woman on the presidential ballot.
Her own message before nomination reflected the significance she attached to the moment.
“I am proud to be the woman who wants to be President of Zimbabwe.”
What Did She Stand For
UZA’s 2023 manifesto was built around four broad themes: accountability, dignity, unity and stability.
The party presented itself as an alternative to Zimbabwe’s established political formations, promising greater citizen participation, democratic governance and an economy capable of creating opportunities for ordinary people.
For Valerio, politics was closely connected to her broader philosophy.
She has spent years arguing that Zimbabwe and Africa do not simply need more projects. They need capable people, productive enterprises and institutions that can survive beyond individual leaders.
That philosophy is visible in her work in professional development, entrepreneurship, conservation, tourism and Pan-African institution-building.
Her political project was therefore presented as an extension of a much longer journey rather than a sudden decision to enter politics.
How Did She Perform In 2023?
Valerio ultimately received 6,989 votes, representing about 0.16% of valid votes cast, according to final election results attributed to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa won the election with 2,350,711 votes, while Nelson Chamisa finished second with 1,967,343.
Valerio’s result was modest, but the election gave UZA and its leader national visibility that would have been difficult to achieve outside a presidential campaign.
More importantly, her candidacy placed a woman with a background in science, business, conservation and institution-building on a presidential ballot dominated by established male politicians.
Beyond The Presidential Ballot
Perhaps the most important thing to understand about Valerio is that politics represents only one part of her public life.
Her work has included professional development, scientific talent development, entrepreneurship, tourism, conservation, indigenous knowledge, cultural heritage and Pan-African institution-building.
She has also worked to build networks connecting African professionals, entrepreneurs and members of the diaspora.
At the centre of it all is an idea she repeatedly returns to: capacity must come before lasting development.
Her philosophy can be summed up in her own words:
“The work is not simply to create projects. It is to build the capacity, enterprises and institutions that allow progress to endure.”
That perhaps explains Valerio better than the label “former presidential candidate” does.
She is a scientist who moved into enterprise.
An entrepreneur who became a conservation advocate.
A conservationist who entered politics.
And a political leader whose wider ambition has been to build institutions capable of outliving individual personalities.
For Zimbabweans who only encountered Elisabeth Valerio during the dramatic 2023 presidential nomination battle, there is therefore a much longer story behind the name.
The woman who appeared on the presidential ballot did not emerge from nowhere.
She arrived at politics after decades spent moving between science, business, conservation, community development and institution-building, carrying with her a family history of political participation and a personal belief that Zimbabwe’s future depends on what its people are able to build, sustain and pass on.
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