UAE Emerges as Zimbabwe’s Top Export Market as $200 Million Investment Deals Take Shape

The United Arab Emirates has emerged as Zimbabwe’s largest export market, with bilateral trade reaching approximately $4.1 billion last year, according to the chairman of the Zimbabwean Business Council UAE, as the Southern African nation intensifies efforts to attract Gulf capital into mining, agriculture and energy.

“We are the voice of Zimbabwean-owned businesses in the UAE,” said Simba Makahamadze, whose organisation operates under Dubai Chambers and serves as a bridge between Zimbabwean businesses and investors seeking access to the UAE market.

Speaking to journalists, Makahamadze said the body has shifted beyond networking into deal facilitation, with active investment conversations now underway across sectors including mining, manufacturing, agriculture and renewable energy.

The discussions involve projects with ticket sizes ranging from $10 million to $200 million, he said, adding that at least five transactions remain under negotiation, with one having already progressed to a signed term sheet.

The UAE’s growing importance to Zimbabwe comes as Harare increasingly looks eastward and toward the Gulf for trade diversification and foreign direct investment, amid persistent currency instability and constrained access to Western capital markets.

According to Makahamadze, mining accounted for roughly $1.9 billion of Zimbabwe’s exports to the UAE last year, reinforcing Dubai’s position as a key hub for African minerals trading. Agricultural exports are also rising, he said, as Zimbabwean firms seek access to Gulf food supply chains.

“The trajectory of trade between the two countries is actually going higher,” Makamadzera said. “It’s up to us, from a Zimbabwean point of view, to tap into that value.”

The Business Council said one of its flagship initiatives over the past year was an exporters’ indaba held in partnership with ZB Bank and Dubai Chambers. More than 30 Zimbabwean exporters participated in the program, which focused on helping local firms navigate logistics, market access and cargo movement into the UAE.

Makahamadze said the council is also facilitating the establishment of ZB Bank within the Dubai International Financial Centre, a move that could strengthen financial connectivity between Zimbabwean businesses and Gulf investors.

Beyond trade flows, Gulf-linked investments are beginning to materialise on the ground in Zimbabwe.

Makahamad cited the entry of DFP World, a retail operator recently licensed to run duty-free shops at Zimbabwean airports, as an example of how UAE-linked investment could translate into local employment and broader commercial activity.

“They are coming in as an international investor,” he said. “But the key issue is employment of locals.”

The strengthening economic ties come against the backdrop of continued geopolitical instability in the Middle East, which has disrupted supply chains and raised insurance and freight costs globally.

Makahamadze acknowledged that the crisis has complicated logistics and increased the cost of moving goods into the Gulf region. But he argued that the disruptions also present an opportunity for Zimbabwean exporters, particularly in agriculture.

“More than 90% of food in the UAE is imported,” he said. “If you look at Dubai’s D33 strategy, food security is one of the key pillars. It is an opportunity that we can tap into as Zimbabwe.”

Dubai’s D33 economic agenda aims to double the emirate’s economy over the next decade and position it among the world’s top global commercial hubs, with food security and trade resilience forming part of the strategy.

For Zimbabwe, the Gulf’s appetite for imported food, minerals and industrial partnerships may offer a rare opening at a time when the country is searching for sustainable export growth and long-term capital inflows.