By Simbarashe Muparaganda
Bulawayo, July 24, 2026 (New Ziana) – The launch of the Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Exchange (ZEEX) marks a major shift in Zimbabwe’s capital markets by expanding access to formal financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a cabinet minister said on Friday.
Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Prof Mthuli Ncube said this when he launched the ZEEX in Bulawayo.
According to the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange(ZSE), ZEEX has been designed as an entrepreneurship-focused platform aimed at helping small and medium enterprises raise capital and access investment opportunities in a regulated market environment.
The platform will offer efficient, transparent and cost-effective capital-raising and trading mechanisms tailored to the needs of emerging businesses.
The exchange will operate through two market segments — ZEEX Private Markets and ZEEX Public Markets.
Prof Ncube said the platform was designed to address long-standing financing gaps that have prevented many viable small businesses from accessing growth capital despite being the backbone of the country’s economy.
“This is not merely the introduction of a new platform for capital markets architecture, but a deliberate and necessary intervention to correct long-standing imbalances where businesses that actually drive our economy have had the least access to the capital markets that could help them grow,” he said.
He said ZEEX directly supports the objectives of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and Vision 2030, which seek to build an upper-middle-income economy through private sector-led growth, financial inclusion and deeper capital markets.
“The goal of becoming an upper-middle-income economy by 2030 cannot be realised on the strength of large enterprises alone.
“It requires a broad and dynamic base of entrepreneurs and small businesses that can be formalised, financed and integrated into the mainstream economy,” Prof. Ncube said.
He said SMEs now contribute more than 60 percent of Zimbabwe’s estimated US$56 billion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employ over 70 percent of the country’s workforce, making improved access to capital critical for sustained economic growth.
“While SMEs play a pivotal role in the country’s economic activity, they have remained largely outside our formal capital markets with limited access to long-term financing. This launch changes that narrative,” he said.
Prof Ncube said ZEEX would provide entrepreneurs with structured, technology-driven financing options, enabling them to raise capital, formalise operations and expand their businesses while simultaneously deepening Zimbabwe’s financial markets.
“Every new issuer, every new instrument and every investment drawn into this space adds liquidity, depth and credibility to the country’s financial sector,” he said.
He also encouraged businesses supplying goods and services to government to utilise the platform for invoice discounting, allowing them to improve cash flow while awaiting payment.
Prof Ncube said Zimbabwe’s capital markets had made significant progress in recent years through the introduction of new investment products such as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), alongside the establishment of the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange and the Zimbabwe International Financial Centre(ZIFC).
He challenged capital market institutions to continue innovating, expressing hope that the country would eventually attract cross-listed international investment products and expand into derivatives and commodity exchanges.
THe also implored the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to actively market ZEEX to Zimbabweans living abroad, saying the diaspora represented an important pool of potential investors.
“I encourage the ZSE to embark on roadshows to engage our diaspora so they understand these opportunities and participate in this market,” he said.
Prof Ncube also called for sustained investor education programmes to ensure entrepreneurs, particularly women, youths and grassroots enterprises, fully understood the opportunities presented by the platform.
“The success of ZEEX would depend on strong collaboration between the ZSE, the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, regulators and other stakeholders to ensure the platform reaches businesses beyond the formal sector.
“The government remains committed to improving the ease of doing business through macro-economic stability, predictable policies and regulatory reforms that reduce the cost and complexity of formalising and growing a business in Zimbabwe,” he said.
Speaking on the same occasion, Bulawayo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Judith Ncube welcomed the decision to launch ZEEX in the region, describing it as a demonstration of confidence in the city’s economic potential.
She said the initiative would expand access to structured financing for entrepreneurs, manufacturers, innovators and start-ups, enabling them to formalise businesses, create jobs and contribute more meaningfully to economic development.
“Many promising enterprises have struggled to realise their full potential because of limited access to affordable and sustainable financing.
“ZEEX addresses this gap by providing entrepreneurs, innovators, manufacturers, start-ups and small and medium enterprises with structured access to capital, enabling them to formalise, expand operations, create jobs and contribute more meaningfully to national development,” Ncube said.
New Ziana
