Zimbabwe's value-added exports rose from US$437 million in 2024 to US$571 million in 2025, and the country wants a larger regional market to sustain that growth. Next week, it gets a platform to make its case. Harare will host the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) summit and related events from October 19 to 22, when Zimbabwe is set to assume the bloc's chairmanship.
Allan Majuru, chief executive officer of ZimTrade, says the pitch is about jobs and production as much as diplomacy. He argues that the chairmanship can connect Zimbabwe's industrialisation ambitions with Africa's capacity to produce, trade and create employment.
A Market Big Enough to Matter
The scale is considerable. COMESA's 21 member states have more than 640 million people and a combined gross domestic product of roughly US$1 trillion. Yet the bloc trades far more with the outside world than among its members. COMESA figures put the region's imports from the world at US$277 billion in 2024, while exports between member states reached about US$14 billion. Total exports to the world stood at US$202 billion, and intra-COMESA exports accounted for only about 7 percent of the bloc's goods exports.
Majuru sees that gap as an opportunity. Larger production volumes can spread costs and support specialisation, while a broader customer base can reduce exposure to disruption in any single export market. Regional orders can also create work for packaging manufacturers, transport operators, laboratories and professional services, deepening domestic production networks and keeping more of Zimbabwe's output value at home.
He points to agriculture, cotton, livestock and steel as candidates: processed foods, fruit concentrates and oils; clothing and textiles; leather goods; and iron and steel for regional construction. Mining across the bloc also generates demand for engineering products, equipment maintenance, protective clothing and technical services.
Where Small Traders Fit
The article gives particular attention to those with the least room for error: micro, small and medium enterprises. COMESA's Free Trade Area offers duty-free access for qualifying goods, subject to rules of origin and destination requirements. Its Simplified Trade Regime targets small-scale cross-border traders, with consideration for women and young people.
At participating borders, eligible consignments on agreed common lists can clear customs with simplified documents and certificates of origin, within applicable value limits. Qualifying goods receive customs duty relief, though product standards and permit requirements still apply. For an enterprise with limited working capital, simpler paperwork, lower clearance costs and faster border procedures can free up money for stock and continued production.
But the arrangements only help if people know about them and borders apply them consistently. Majuru says Zimbabwe's export development efforts should include awareness of the regime, practical trader training and consistent border implementation. He also calls for action on costly logistics, border delays and access to trade finance, along with closer customs coordination, wider use of electronic documentation and cooperation on standards. Reliable energy and transport infrastructure, he adds, are needed for predictable production and delivery.
Beyond the Capital
The benefits, in this telling, aren't meant to stay in Harare. Producers in Manicaland, Masvingo and Matabeleland could contribute through horticulture, agro-processing, timber and leather value chains. Majuru writes that export clusters can help smaller enterprises pool production and meet shared quality requirements.
The 19th COMESA Business Forum and Multi-Sectoral International Exhibition runs in Harare from October 19 to 21. The COMESA Business Council, ZimTrade, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC), the COMESA Secretariat and the Government have convened it to bring regional buyers and investors into contact with Zimbabwean firms and carry business priorities into the bloc's deliberations.
The government frames the effort as part of President Mnangagwa's work to position Zimbabwe at the centre of Africa's development through tourism, trade, investment and industrial partnerships.
Why This Matters:
Regional trade deals are easy to celebrate and hard to deliver. The numbers show why. With intra-COMESA exports at roughly 7 percent of the bloc's goods exports, most member states sell their goods elsewhere, leaving potential jobs and local supply chains unrealised. Whether a chairmanship changes that depends on the unglamorous work Majuru himself flags: border delays, logistics costs, trade finance and trader awareness. Those barriers hit small producers, women and young traders hardest because they have the thinnest cushions. If the summit produces coordinated customs rules and wider use of the simplified regime, farmers and small manufacturers could benefit, not just large exporters. If it doesn't, the 640 million-strong market remains largely theoretical.