Sikhulekelani Moyo
Zimpapers Business Hub
ZIMBABWE’S capital market value of US$12 billion, representing only 21 percent of Gross Domestic Product, remains far below its potential, which the industry regulator views as detrimental to the economy.
Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZim) chief executive officer (CEO) Mr Tichaona Mushambadope said this at the recently held annual Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference (ZEDCON) 2026 in Bulawayo.
He said the commission’s mandate is to create an enabling environment for capital market growth, investor protection, and investor education.
“As a regulator, we regulate more than 200 entities and the capital market capitalisation is US$12 billion. But the number that I wanted to zoom in on is that it (market cap) represents 21 percent of our GDP,” he said.
In the United States, the country’s combined market cap is significantly larger than its economy, while South Africa’s combined market (roughly US$1,46 billion to US$1,53 billion) value represents about 400 percent of the size of its domestic economy.
“So, what it means is if we are standing on 21 percent, as a nation we are doing ourselves a disservice if we do not take deliberate action to begin effectively expanding the product offerings that we have within the capital markets, but also just to modernise them so that they align with global development.”
“What we are doing as the apex regulator within the capital markets is an entity created by Parliament with the prime objective to create an enabling environment for capital market growth, investor protection, but also most fundamentally, investor education.”
He said while the fundamentals are solid: inflation is now at about 3 point something percent, the bank rate was cut by 2,5 percentage points to 27,7 percent, and gold production is on target to reach 55 tonnes in 2026.
Linking capital markets to the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2 2026-2030) and ZEDCON pillars, Mr Mushambadope said the Zimbabwe Entrepreneur Exchange (ZEEX), launched two to three months ago, is advancing inclusivity in the economy.
“When you talk about inclusivity, there is ZEEX. It’s an exchange that seeks to lower the ladder of participation in the capital markets. This then allows us to remove the idea that the capital markets previously were a preserve for a few,” he said.
“But now when you’re saying your SMEs are participating, it means that in Tsholotsho, they can actually be able to list on the exchange and grow and get capital to grow.”
He said the bigger impact is governance and formalisation of SMEs, as they contribute about 60 percent to the national GDP.
“The other most important component when you’re saying you’ve created an SME exchange is not even the capital raising component, but the mere fact that you’re now obliging an SME to tick all the governance boxes. What that does is the unintended — I would call it a beautiful unintended consequence — is that we exponentially get to formalise these entities,” said Mr Mushambadope.
“If we are saying 60 percent of our GDP is coming from SMEs, if we are saying 90 percent of our people are within the SMEs, if we are saying 74 percent of our gold came from small-scale miners, I think as policymakers, as economists, if we sit around and formulate policies that do not fit and involve such sectors, it would be a fundamental miss. But when you talk as well about SMEs, you’re talking about women, you’re talking about youth inclusion,” he said.
On digital ID, he said the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG), which brings key Government departments together to tick anti-money laundering boxes, should be used as a foundation to talk about digital financial ID to bring participation within financial services.
On sustainable energy, he said SECZim is looking at licensing an environmental exchange for carbon credits, renewable energy certificates, and biodiversity certificates sought after in Sweden, France, and other markets.
“There is an applicant who has come through within the regulatory sandbox who would want to have an exchange that deals with that,” he said.
“For example, renewable energy certificates — the mere fact that in 1961, 62, 63, people were moved when we did Kariba, the mere fact that we are generating that clean power, the whole world owes us money, and the renewable energy certificate becomes something that we can use to develop certain components of industrialisation.”
On urban infrastructure and smart cities, he said the fundamentals are right to look at municipal bonds again, linked to diaspora sentimental value.
“If it’s very difficult to tick certain corporate governance boxes with municipalities or rural district councils, link the diasporan to their rural home, link the diasporan to their original town. When somebody is sitting in New York, the sentimental value that they still have to Chimanimani — you know, whenever, even when I was in the diaspora, I held sentimental value because that’s where I was born and bred. There is that link, and I think we need to deliberately work on that,” he said.
On ICT and connectivity, homegrown fintech, and rail infrastructure bonds, he pointed to Nvidia as a lesson.
“The largest company in the world is called Nvidia. It has a capitalisation of over US$3 trillion . . . these guys are doing nothing else except creating tech products,” said Mr Mushambadope.
“What is it that stops us? We’re brilliant minds. We pride ourselves on sitting at the apex of academia as a nation. Let’s move and be deliberate about that. This is where you marry investment and the capital markets. When you talk about these tech valuations, it’s capital markets. So, I think as the regulator of the capital markets, I’m just saying to the team and policymakers, let’s take deliberate actions to revive, revitalise, and revamp our capital markets.”
On innovation, he said 10 players are working with virtual assets: five with stablecoins, three with tokenisation of real-world assets, two with crowdfunding, and six using blockchain, addressing inclusion and remittances as traditional networks shift toward blockchain technology.
On investor education, SECZim will launch a programme in the next six months to educate 10,000 tertiary students.
“We can never overemphasise investor education, and because of that, as a commission, in the next six months, we are launching an investor education programme.
“We want to educate 10 000 tertiary education students to understand what capital markets are and how they can effectively participate.
“Even if they’re at Lupane State University, they’re going to go home to Tsholotsho. Even if they’re at Bindura University of Science Education, they’re going to go to Mutoko, and they’re going to carry that message,” he said.
Finally, he said SECZim itself must digitise.
“We can’t talk about innovation; we can’t talk about digitisation without us doing it. So, as SECZim, we are launching a digital regulatory platform that will literally, for all purposes and intentions, automate all the activities that we are doing as a regulator,” said Mr Mushambadope.
