The African Export Import Bank’s expression of satisfaction with progress at the African Trade Centre construction site in Harare marks more than a routine project update. It signals Zimbabwe’s deepening integration into continental trade architecture and reinforces the country’s strategic positioning under the National Development Strategy 2 as a gateway for regional finance, trade and investment.
The US$100 million African Trade Centre, scheduled for commissioning early next year, is a flagship pillar of Afreximbank’s broader vision to establish a network of regional trade hubs across Africa and the Caribbean. These centres are designed to translate the aspirations of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement into practical infrastructure that facilitates trade, investment flows and institutional coordination. In this context, Harare’s inclusion is both symbolic and strategic, affirming Zimbabwe’s relevance within Africa’s evolving economic geography.
Beyond its physical presence, the Trade Centre represents a convergence point for policy, capital and commerce. Housing Afreximbank’s regional office, a hotel, a conference centre and a trade information facility, the complex is deliberately structured to serve as a nerve centre for deal making, trade facilitation and knowledge exchange. This multi functional design aligns with AfCFTA’s objective of reducing non tariff barriers by bringing financiers, policymakers and businesses into one integrated ecosystem.
For Zimbabwe, the project dovetails with NDS2 priorities that emphasise value addition, export growth, investment attraction and regional integration. By hosting a permanent Afreximbank regional footprint, the country strengthens its credentials as a financial and investment destination at a time when competition among African cities for capital and institutions is intensifying. The Trade Centre is expected to catalyse ancillary economic activity, from conferencing and hospitality to professional services and logistics, creating multiplier effects across the urban economy.
The project’s funding model also carries strategic weight. Fully financed by Afreximbank and implemented by Oman Shapoorji Company LLC in collaboration with local contractors, it reflects confidence in Zimbabwe’s operating environment and underscores the role of blended international and domestic expertise in delivering large scale infrastructure. The involvement of Zimbabwean contractors further aligns with national objectives of skills transfer, local content development and industrial participation.
At a continental level, the African Trade Centre in Harare reinforces Afreximbank’s role as a practical enabler of AfCFTA. Trade agreements alone cannot unlock intra African commerce without supporting infrastructure, financing platforms and institutional anchors. By investing in physical trade centres, Afreximbank is effectively building the scaffolding upon which Africa’s single market can function.
As commissioning approaches, the Harare Trade Centre stands as a tangible expression of how development finance, regional integration and national policy priorities can intersect.
It is not merely a building project, but a strategic statement that Zimbabwe intends to be an active node in Africa’s trade and investment networks, leveraging NDS2 to position itself within the continent’s next phase of economic transformation.
