Online Reporter
Nelson Gahadza
Senior Business Reporter
The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Holdings (ZSEH) will continue to explore new opportunities as a listed entity with immediate focus on exploring, with its stock exchange subsidiaries, opportunities for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to access finance through its platforms.
ZSE Holdings owns both the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX), which trades exclusively in hard currency.
Group chief executive Mr Justin Bgoni, at the group’s listing ceremony, said ZSEH would ensure that it created a business-friendly environment that accommodated the SMEs, a crucial sector, allowing them to tap into and raise capital on its platforms.
“We are excited about the new opportunities that lie ahead as a listed entity. As we look forward to the next chapter, we are excited about the prospects that we are exploring with our exchanges, which include the inclusion of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to access finance through our platforms,” he said.
Mr Bgoni said they planned to launch an SME exchange that has been there for the past decade, but the time is now ripe.
“It is something that we believe the time is right now to do, and we will be coming to the market to talk about that.
“We will also ensure that we create a business-friendly environment that accommodates this crucial sector, allowing them to tap into and raise capital on our platforms,” he said.
Previously, the ZSE said it was working to establish the Zimbabwe Emerging Enterprise Market (ZEEM), an over-the-counter trading platform for small to medium enterprises.
This platform would initially focus on providing working capital solutions for formalised businesses, to eventually facilitate the listing of qualifying SMEs on a secondary bourse through training and other support initiatives.
SMEs believe the setting up of a junior bourse will help companies raise equity funding.
SME Association of Zimbabwe founder and chief executive Mr Farai Mutambanengwe has previously highlighted that a secondary bourse was good for growing business.
“We feel that there is a need for a secondary bourse because part of the capital-raising function or requirement for any growing enterprise is getting equity funding. A bourse is a very effective way for an emerging business to get that equity capital,” he said.
Over the years, the informal sector in Zimbabwe has been increasing and now plays a key role in the economy, making significant contributions to the gross domestic product.
Mr Bgoni also noted that as part of the ZSE’s transformational journey, which began in 2020, it built brands that include ZSE and VFEX Markets, ZSE and VFEX Depositories, ZSE and VFEX Direct and the ZSE Training Institute.
It also developed platforms for new securitised products in the form of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), real estate investment trusts (REITs) and depositary receipts.
