Online Reporter
Business Writer
ZIMBABWE’S assumption of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) chairmanship has been welcomed by the business community as an opportunity to translate regional trade agreements and digital reforms into tangible benefits for exporters, manufacturers and investors.
COMESA comprises 21 member states namely Burundi, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The regional trading bloc represents a market of more than 640 million people with a combined Gross Domestic Product estimated at approximately US$1 trillion.
Zimbabwe will assume the rotational chairmanship from Kenya for the 2026-2027 term when it hosts the 25th COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit at the new Parliament Building in Mt Hampden on October 22.
For local businesses, the significance of the chairmanship extends beyond hosting the regional summit, with industry players eager to see Zimbabwe leverage its leadership position to accelerate the implementation of measures that reduce the cost and complexity of cross-border trade.
Zimbabwe is already implementing the COMESA electronic Certificate of Origin, a system designed to improve efficiency, reduce transaction costs and enhance transparency in regional trade.
The electronic platform is being implemented by five COMESA member states, including Zimbabwe.
The country is also among 15 member states implementing the COMESA Electronic Single Window, which enables traders to submit documentation through a single digital platform instead of dealing with multiple Government agencies.
Muchengeti Investments chief executive Mr Tafadzwa Muchengeti said the initiatives had the potential to deliver meaningful benefits to business if Zimbabwe used its chairmanship to promote wider and faster adoption across the region.
“Business is looking for practical outcomes from regional integration. The electronic Certificate of Origin and Single Window are exactly the type of reforms that can reduce delays, paperwork and transaction costs. Zimbabwe should use its chairmanship to make these systems work more seamlessly across borders,” he said.
Mr Muchengeti said greater harmonisation of customs procedures would be particularly important for companies seeking to expand exports into regional markets.
“The opportunity is to make COMESA feel like a genuine common market for businessmen. If a manufacturer can produce in Zimbabwe and move goods through the region with fewer administrative obstacles, that changes the economics of investing in additional production capacity,” he said.
Development economist Dr Farai Chikowore said Zimbabwe could also use its chairmanship to advance the bloc’s investment agenda.
In April this year, COMESA member states validated a revised Common Investment Area Agreement, a framework intended to strengthen intra-regional investment and attract increased foreign direct investment.
“This is an important moment because investment and trade are closely connected. Businesses will invest where they can access markets and operate under predictable rules. Zimbabwe can use the chairmanship to push for faster progress on the regional investment framework,” Dr Chikowore said.
He said emphasis should be placed on ensuring that regional agreements translate into tangible economic benefits at both national and business levels.
“Ratification and implementation are where the real economic value lies. The chairmanship allows Zimbabwe to bring member states together around practical timelines for implementation, rather than allowing good regional policies to remain largely on paper,” he said.
Industry players also see an opportunity to use the broader COMESA market to stimulate manufacturing growth.
Industrialist Mr Gift Nyaradzo said local manufacturers require access to a larger market to support investment, production growth and economies of scale.
“Zimbabwean industry cannot rely on the domestic market alone if we want significant expansion in manufacturing. COMESA provides an important regional market, and our chairmanship should be used to remove barriers that make it difficult for Zimbabwean products to compete across borders,” he said.
Mr Nyaradzo said digital trade facilitation measures could be particularly beneficial for manufacturers dealing with time-sensitive consignments and complex customs procedures.
He said Zimbabwe should also champion the development of stronger regional value chains, enabling manufacturers to source inputs from neighbouring countries while supplying finished products into the wider regional market.
COMESA’s trade facilitation agenda already includes digital systems and other measures aimed at reducing barriers to cross-border commerce. The bloc’s Simplified Trade Regime is also operational in Zimbabwe and seven other member states, supporting small-scale cross-border traders.
For Zimbabwean businesses, therefore, the October summit represents more than a diplomatic gathering.
It presents an opportunity for the country to place implementation, market access, investment promotion and industrialisation at the centre of its COMESA agenda.
With Zimbabwe already participating in key digital trade instruments and the region working towards a more integrated investment framework, the business community wants the country’s 2026-2027 chairmanship to translate these initiatives into faster movement of goods, lower trading costs and increased investment across the region.
Business leaders say the true test of Zimbabwe’s leadership will ultimately be whether regional integration delivers measurable benefits to the companies, manufacturers and traders that rely on the COMESA market every day.
