Trade Focus
Allan Majuru
A reliable export market gives a manufacturer the confidence to invest beyond what domestic demand alone can support.
The resulting expansion can create employment and generate business for local industry, spreading the benefits of export trade across the domestic economy.
This connection between regional markets and national development gives particular significance to Zimbabwe’s chairmanship of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) under His Excellency, President Dr ED Mnangagwa.
President Mnangagwa’s emphasis on value addition, inclusive industrialisation and greater participation in regional value chains places productive activity and improved livelihoods at the centre of Zimbabwe’s leadership of the bloc.
The outcomes of the recent COMESA Business Forum provide an opportunity to advance these priorities through practical changes in the way regional economies produce and trade.
Held in Harare on October 19 and 20, the forum brought policymakers, investors and business leaders together to consider the conditions needed for stronger regional commerce.
A complementary exhibition attracted more than 150 exhibitors, creating opportunities for businesses to establish relationships with prospective buyers and partners.
The COMESA Business Declaration 2026, subsequently incorporated into the communiqué of the 25th COMESA Summit on October 22, gives these discussions a framework for implementation.
Its recommendations address constraints that affect the viability of export transactions, including financing gaps, border procedures and the limited integration of smaller enterprises into established supply chains.
Their implementation will require coordinated action by member states and regional institutions.
For Zimbabwe, the strategic task is to connect this regional agenda with the expansion of domestic productive capacity, ensuring that greater market access supports investment and employment at home.
More customers for local industry
The first opportunity comes from the declaration’s call for stronger regional value chains and investment in processing hubs, industrial parks and shared facilities.
These arrangements can connect Zimbabwean firms with manufacturers that require regular supplies of components, processed materials or specialist services.
For example, an engineering company can supply a regional mine, while a packaging manufacturer serves food processors operating across several countries.
Procurement proposals favouring African technology solutions can create customers for Zimbabwean software developers and other digital service providers.
For the local supplier, a continuing production relationship provides a stronger basis for investing in equipment and skills than occasional sales.
Shared processing and storage facilities will also spread infrastructure costs across participating enterprises, making industrial investment more affordable for companies that cannot build such facilities independently.
Zimbabwe already has a platform for expanding these relationships, with goods exports to COMESA increasing from approximately US$201 million in 2024 to US$222 million in 2025, a rise of about 10,4 percent.
Zambia, the leading destination within the bloc, together with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Malawi, offers opportunities in mining supplies, construction and consumer products.
Kenya and Egypt provide additional possibilities for industrial cooperation and diversification, subject to the demand and delivery costs of each product.
The objective is to secure customers for additional processing within Zimbabwe, including food manufacturing, clothing, steel products and leather goods.
ZimTrade’s agreement with the Africa Leather and Leather Products Institute during Green Industry Connect illustrates how cooperation can support this shift through skills, modernisation and market connections.
Stronger leather manufacturers can purchase more from livestock producers and other suppliers, extending the benefit of regional orders through the domestic economy.
These domestic production linkages connect export growth with Vision 2030, allowing the benefits of regional integration to reach enterprises and communities beyond the exporting firm.
Supply opportunities for smaller enterprises
Extending these production relationships to smaller businesses is another important outcome sought by the declaration.
It proposes linking enterprises to established buyers through supplier arrangements, producer clusters and shared storage or transport facilities.
This gives businesses unable to supply a large order individually a way to participate collectively, provided their products meet common specifications.
A small producer can also enter an export supply chain through an established manufacturer, gaining experience without immediately assuming responsibility for overseas distribution.
ZimTrade’s Export Cluster Development Programme can help organise production around these requirements.
The Eagles’ Nest, Next She Exporter and the SheTrades Zimbabwe Hub provide further avenues for preparing youth enterprises and women-led businesses to participate.
The gain should be a broader base of suppliers earning income from regional demand, including enterprises in rural communities.
Reaching that point requires clear agreements on quantities, quality and payment so that every participating business can plan its contribution.
Finance to turn orders into production
Once suppliers are organised around an order, the next requirement is the capital needed to deliver it.
The declaration’s proposals for credit guarantees, blended finance and financing against invoices or stored commodities directly address this gap.
An enterprise with a credible buyer could have more options for funding inputs when lenders can share risk or assess the strength of the transaction.
This could help viable firms whose growth is constrained by limited property collateral, although financing decisions would still require proper assessment.
The commercial gain is the ability to accept orders that would otherwise exceed available working capital.
Longer funding periods would also support investment in machinery and technology, allowing companies to improve productivity and handle larger volumes.
Development finance institutions and trade insurers can contribute to these arrangements, with repayment schedules reflecting production and payment cycles.
For Zimbabwe, connecting finance with confirmed market opportunities can make enterprise expansion more sustainable and strengthen demand for local labour and inputs.
Lower costs from factory to customer
The return on that investment also depends on how efficiently goods reach the buyer and how quickly payment is received.
The declaration, therefore, calls for recognition of standards and conformity assessments, faster clearance of certified goods and institutional responsibility for resolving reported trade barriers.
If implemented, these measures could reduce repeated testing and clearance disputes, helping exporters quote prices and delivery dates with greater confidence.
The benefit reaches production itself because less time spent waiting at borders means less working capital tied up in consignments.
Electronic certificates of origin and connected customs systems would reinforce this improvement where the authorities can verify and accept documents issued across borders.
Regional payment arrangements could similarly reduce settlement difficulties and help exporters release funds for subsequent orders.
Modernised transport corridors, coordinated border posts and shared warehousing would complement these administrative changes, while dependable energy remains essential to production.
Eligible small traders can also use the Simplified Trade Regime where it operates, within the relevant product lists and consignment limits.
Businesses should document recurring obstacles so that responsible institutions can address specific delays and track improvements.
Measuring clearance times and the cost of compliance on targeted routes would also show whether regional commitments are improving trading conditions.
Better products for changing markets
More predictable delivery gives a supplier a stronger commercial offer, which must be supported by the quality and consistency customers expect.
The declaration’s emphasis on machinery, technology and skills can help enterprises improve these capabilities as they expand.
ZimTrade can complement technical support with information on competing products, packaging preferences and distribution costs, helping firms direct investment towards a viable market.
Meeting applicable rules of origin and destination requirements also remains necessary when claiming regional trade preferences.
Environmental requirements increasingly form part of the same purchasing decision.
The proposed regional standards for circular production, together with support on traceability and sustainable packaging, could help local
firms satisfy buyers while reducing waste.
Dedicated financing for greener enterprises would make relevant equipment and production improvements more attainable.
Common rules for recycled materials and refurbished goods would also give businesses a clearer basis for investing in collection, processing and repair services.
Clear regulatory transition periods would give manufacturers time to adjust, reducing the risk that unexpected requirements undermine planned investments.
The resulting opportunity is to build a more dependable product offer capable of winning repeat orders.
Turning partnerships into lasting sales
Securing those orders requires commercial follow-up on the relationships established in Harare.
Prospective buyers need samples, specifications and quotations, while suppliers need agreed quantities, payment arrangements and realistic delivery schedules.
ZimTrade can work with diplomatic missions, chambers and regional trade promotion organisations to help resolve outstanding technical, financing or market information issues.
Buyer meetings and outward missions should support this process, concentrating on customers that participating companies are equipped to serve.
Progress should then be followed through contracts, shipments and payments, with subsequent purchases showing whether the relationship is becoming sustainable.
Sales records measured against a verified baseline can establish export gains, while monitoring new exporters, employment and purchases from domestic suppliers can show their contribution to national development.
Allan Majuru is the chief executive officer of ZimTrade.
