Online Reporter
Sikhulekelani Moyo
Zimpapers Business Hub
SUPPLIERS struggling with payment delays will now be able to cash their invoices within 48 hours after the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) launched a regulated invoice discounting platform called InvoiceX.
Presenting during a webinar on Tuesday, ZSE head of depository Mr Hillary Karani said the platform answers a simple question facing suppliers, saying suppliers have been struggling to take care of other production expenses while waiting for payments of their invoices, which sometimes take 30 to 90 days.
The question during the webinar was: If you deliver your goods and services today and issue an invoice, but you have obligations that you need to finance immediately and you cannot wait for 30, 60, or 90 days, what would you do?
The webinar comes ahead of The Supply Chain Finance Forum to be hosted by Zimpapers and Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Exchange (ZEEX) on the 8th of October 2026, with CBZ RedSphere Finance as the headline sponsor.
Mr Karani said invoice discounting is not necessarily a new introduction to the market, elaborating that ZSE has introduced a number of initiatives to help small businesses manage to get the finance they need for their businesses.
“What we have done at the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange is to make it broader and establish a regulated market where buyers, suppliers and financiers can meet and be able to discount their invoices on a single integrated platform called InvoiceX,” Mr Karani said.
“The platform is the third pillar of the newly established Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Exchange (ZEEX), which was established on July 12 to resolve funding issues for SMEs.
“ZEEX has four pillars, that is, the private markets, public markets, invoice discounting and mortgage registration.”
InvoiceX is a short-term financial arrangement which allows a supplier to sell a trade receivable to a financier at a discount.
Another presenter, Mr Charles Nyahwema from CBZ RedSphere Finance, explained the process, saying that on day zero, suppliers upload invoices on InvoiceX.
The invoice goes to the buyer for authentication and approval. Once approved, it goes into auction where financiers bid. The winning bid is the lowest discount rate.
Day zero to day one: clearing and settlement; day two: the supplier is paid.
“From the day we receive the invoice to the day of payment, we are trying to achieve the whole process within 48 hours. As we start the platform, the time that we have set is 48 hours, but we are trying to reduce this even lower to 24 hours,” Mr Nyahwema said.
“At maturity, the buyer pays the full invoice amount into the settlement trust account, which then pays the financier. Buyers receive reminders before the due date and there is a grace period and penalty system for late payment.
“Initially, the platform will be United States Dollar only, with invoices ranging from US$1 000 up to US$1,5 million per transaction.
For suppliers, there is a one-off onboarding fee of US$100. Thereafter, fees are 0,15 percent settlement fee and 0,5 percent trade fee, totalling 0,65 percent, less than one percent.
Discount rates will range from a floor of five percent to a ceiling of 10 percent per month, based on a 30-day month.
The lowest discount rate wins the auction, with the earliest bid winning in case of a tie.
