AfricanGulf.ae Exclusive | Chairman’s Interview
The economic relationship between Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates is entering an important phase. With the UAE now absorbing a significant share of Zimbabwe’s export earnings, the commercial relationship is already substantial. The challenge, however, is how to move beyond a corridor dominated by commodities and build deeper connections in investment, value addition, technology, services, tourism and skills.
In this exclusive interview with AfricanGulf.ae, the Chairman of the Zimbabwean Business Council UAE (ZIBCO) explains the Council’s role in giving greater structure to this growing business relationship and creating a more effective bridge between Zimbabwean companies and the UAE market.
ZIBCO was established to support and advocate for Zimbabwean-owned, Zimbabwean-led and affiliated businesses in the UAE, while promoting trade and investment in both directions. As the Chairman explains, the objective is not simply to create more networking opportunities, but to help businesses move from introductions and conversations to qualified commercial opportunities, investment and transactions.
The interview provides an inside view of how ZIBCO approaches this mission — from sector-focused roundtables and business delegations to market intelligence, regulatory guidance, matchmaking and direct engagement with institutions in both countries. It also highlights the importance of building trust and properly qualifying opportunities before companies commit capital or enter a new market.
Looking ahead, the Chairman identifies three major priorities for ZIBCO: institutionalisation, readiness for a potential UAE–Zimbabwe Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and diversification of bilateral trade.
That diversification is central to his vision. While mining and commodities remain important to Zimbabwe’s exports to the UAE, he argues that the next stage of the relationship should increasingly involve value addition, beneficiation, technology, services, tourism and investment.
At the heart of the conversation is a broader question: How can the UAE–Zimbabwe relationship evolve from a successful trade corridor into a deeper economic partnership?
In this exclusive conversation, the Chairman of ZIBCO discusses what is changing on the ground, the opportunities emerging for businesses in both markets, and his vision for a corridor in which capital, skills and technology move south as consistently as minerals move north.
As Chairman of the Zimbabwean Business Council UAE, what is the core role of ZIBCO, and what gap was the Council created to address in the UAE-Zimbabwe business relationship?
Our mandate is to support, promote and advocate for the commercial interests of Zimbabwean-owned, led and affiliated businesses in the UAE, and to promote bilateral trade and investment in both directions.
The gap we were created to close is not a gap in trade volume. The UAE now absorbs roughly half of Zimbabwe’s export earnings. Beneath those headline numbers sat a narrow commodity corridor and a fragmented private sector. Zimbabwean businesses arrived here one at a time and learned the market by trial and error. UAE companies looking at Zimbabwe had no credible first port of call. ZIBCO exists to give that relationship an organised private-sector spine.
ZIBCO works to connect businesses, facilitate trade and investment, and support companies entering each other’s markets. What are some of the key activities and initiatives the Council is currently undertaking to achieve these objectives?
Our work sits in four streams.
First, structured convening — sector-focused roundtables, business forums and curated networking across sectors as well as our flagship Exporters Indaba in Zimbabwe which focuses on players exporting into and through Dubai.
Second, formal representation. Through Dubai Chambers, and in close coordination with the Zimbabwean Embassy in Abu Dhabi and our Consulate in Dubai, we ensure our members’ commercial concerns reach the institutions that can act on them. We also do this in Zimbabwe for our strategic partners through our Board Member and the supporting Committee Members on the ground.
Third is research and market intelligence. We produce sector briefs, regulatory snapshots and an opportunities dashboard carrying live trade and investment mandates from both the public and private sectors.
Fourth, delegations. We have organised four business delegations and investment missions to date, and we are deliberately building a membership that spans corporates, SMEs, professionals and students, because a corridor needs a talent pipeline as much as a trade pipeline.
One of ZIBCO’s strategic pillars is “Enable” — helping businesses move from connections and conversations to actual commercial opportunities. How does the Council practically support a Zimbabwean company that wants to enter the UAE market, or a UAE company looking at opportunities in Zimbabwe?
Enable is where a council either earns its licence or becomes a networking club. Our test is based on actual activity in both jurisdictions.
For a Zimbabwean company entering the UAE, we provide a soft landing. That means an honest pre-entry briefing on whether the market actually wants their product; guidance on structuring — mainland versus free zone, licensing, banking realities; warm introductions to vetted members in logistics, distribution, compliance and professional services; a platform to present to buyers; and follow-through after the handshake.
For a UAE company looking at Zimbabwe, the currency is trust. We help them identify and verify counterparties, understand the regulatory and fiscal landscape as it actually operates, and connect into official investment channels. This includes sctual travel and meetings with regulators and key stakeholders.
We de-risk the first mile and we qualify both sides honestly, which sometimes means telling a member that the market is not ready for them.
ZIBCO has organised business delegations, investment meetings, networking events and sector-focused initiatives. Which activities have had the greatest impact so far, and what results are you seeing from these engagements?
Two formats consistently outperform. The first is the sector-focused roundtables, a room of twenty people with a shared commercial problem produces more than a hall of three hundred exchanging cards. The second is the structured delegation, where visits are built around pre-qualified matchmaking rather than ceremony. Our Exporters Indaba produced structured B2B meetings and active discussions are now in commercial follow-up.
The results I watch are pipeline, not attendance: how many corporate members onboarded, how many introductions converted into supply or distribution agreements, and actual exporting into the UAE.
I would be candid about the harder metric. Converting interest into closed transactions across a corridor still weighted toward raw commodities takes patience. What has changed is that Zimbabwean businesses here now have an address, and UAE counterparts have a number to call.
Looking ahead, what are your priorities as Chairman for ZIBCO, and what would you like the UAE-Zimbabwe business corridor to achieve over the next few years?
Three priorities.
Institutionalisation has been a key priority since I became Chairman with only three board members to lead. ZIBCO must outlast any chairman, that means governance, systems, a working secretariat and a research capability that produces credible data on this corridor. To date, I lead an institution with more than 16 team members.
Second, CEPA readiness. Zimbabwe and the UAE are at the tail-end of negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement covering agriculture, mining, energy and infrastructure. Trade agreements are a great starting point but they do not create trade, prepared businesses do. Our job is to ensure Zimbabwean businesses understand the standards, certification and compliance requirements to actually use it when it lands.
Third, diversification. Half of Zimbabwe’s exports coming here is a remarkable statistic, but it is a commodity statistic led by the mining sector. I want the next phase measured in value addition, beneficiation, services, technology and tourism.
My ambition is a corridor where trade value is matched by investment depth. Capital, skills and technology moving south as consistently as minerals move north.
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