Online Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) has officially launched the Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Exchange (ZEEX), a new capital markets platform designed to widen access to finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), marking a significant step towards strengthening entrepreneurship and business growth in Zimbabwe.
The launch, held in Bulawayo on Friday, follows regulatory approval granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZim) in June to operationalise the ZSE’s SME Exchange under the ZEEX brand. The technology-driven platform is intended to help SMEs raise capital, improve liquidity and access alternative financing solutions within the country’s evolving economy.
ZSE Group Chief Executive Officer Justin Bgoni said the exchange had been created to broaden financing options available to entrepreneurs through innovative market-based solutions.
ZEEX comprises four key pillars: ZEEX Private Markets, which enables entrepreneurs to raise capital through structured private placements before listing; ZEEX Public Markets, which facilitates public capital raising, listings and secondary trading; Invoice Discounting, which allows businesses to convert unpaid invoices into immediate working capital; and the Bondholding Company (BHC), which helps smaller enterprises secure debt financing using structured collateral arrangements.
Speaking at the launch, Bulawayo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Judith Ncube welcomed the decision to launch the platform in the city, saying it reflected Bulawayo’s longstanding role in Zimbabwe’s financial history.
“Bulawayo carried the distinction of being home to one of the very first stock exchanges established around 1896. In launching ZEEX in Bulawayo, the ZSE is not creating something entirely new for the city. In many respects, it recognises that it is a home for finance and enterprise.”
Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa said the platform converts years of engagement into a practical financing solution for entrepreneurs.
“The ZSE has played an important role in introducing entrepreneurs to the opportunities available within Zimbabwe’s capital markets as it transforms years of dialogue, capacity building and institutional collaboration into a practical financing platform.”
Delivering the keynote address, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube described ZEEX as a strategic intervention to address the financing gap affecting SMEs.
“ZEEX is a deliberate and necessary intervention to correct a long-standing imbalance, one where the very businesses that anchor our economy have had the least access to the capital markets that could help them grow,” he said.
“The establishment of ZEEX gives these businesses the tools to formalise, to scale, and to access the kind of patient capital that has historically been reserved for large corporates. ZEEX is a direct, practical expression of the policy intent set out in our National Development Strategy 2.”
The ZSE said stakeholders can now access the ZEEX and InvoiceX digital platforms as the exchange begins operations, adding that the milestone was made possible through collaboration with Government, SECZim and other market participants. The bourse also expressed appreciation to its stakeholders for their support in bringing the initiative to fruition.
