Zimbabwe’s rapidly expanding trade relationship with the United Arab Emirates is creating new opportunities for exporters, but businesses will need to diversify beyond minerals and strengthen their financial and operational capacity if they are to capture a larger share of the Gulf market.
The issue was at the centre of the 2026 Exporters’ Indaba held in Harare on Monday, where the Zimbabwean Business Council-United Arab Emirates (ZIBCO-UAE) and ZB Financial Holdings outlined opportunities and challenges facing local businesses seeking to enter the UAE and wider Gulf Cooperation Council market.
Zimbabwe’s exports to the UAE reached about US$2.8 billion by June 2026, accounting for roughly 48 per cent of the country’s total exports in the first half of the year, according to ZIBCO
The UAE has consequently overtaken South Africa and China as Zimbabwe’s largest export market, although the distinction is important because the two countries remain major sources of imports into Zimbabwe.
ZIBCO estimates that Zimbabwe-UAE bilateral trade exceeded US$5 billion in 2025 and could reach US$6 billion this year.
The growing corridor is also attracting investment interest. ZIBCO chairman Simba Makahamadze said that several commercial discussions involving between US$10 million and US$200 million were at advanced stages.
“The metric that matters most is the hardest one, turning interest into closed transactions in a corridor still weighted toward raw commodities,” Makahamadze said.
He said the council was tracking its pipeline through members onboarded, introductions converted into supply or distribution agreements and actual exports into the UAE.
The presentations at the indaba suggest that the next phase of the relationship will depend on whether Zimbabwean companies can move up the value chain.
Gold and precious metals accounted for about 96.7 per cent of Zimbabwe’s exports to the UAE in 2024, according to the ZIBCO presentation, highlighting the extent to which the corridor remains concentrated in mining.
The council is now encouraging exporters to explore agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, wellness products, tourism and services.
Potential agricultural products identified include macadamia nuts, citrus, speciality herbs, organic produce, moringa, baobab and natural oils.
The UAE’s reliance on imported food provides a sizeable potential market. ZIBCO estimates that between 80 and 90 percent of the country’s food is imported, while consumer-oriented agri-food imports reached US$16.2 billion in 2024.
But access to that market will depend on more than demand.
Exporters must meet requirements around certification, labelling, traceability, cold-chain logistics and production volumes.
Makamahadze has previously warned that Zimbabwean companies can struggle to supply the volumes required by international buyers.
“One of the challenges our private sector seems to be facing is inability to deliver products in volumes,” he said.
The ZIBCO presentation also positioned Dubai as more than an end market, describing it as a logistics and commercial gateway connecting Zimbabwean businesses to markets across the Gulf, Middle East, Asia and beyond.
That opportunity is supported by Dubai’s aviation, maritime and free-zone infrastructure, including Jebel Ali Port and the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre.
However, exporters also face a changing logistics environment, with disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz making route planning increasingly important.
For ZB Financial Holdings, the challenge is also financial.
The financial services group told exporters that access to trade finance, payment assurance and foreign-exchange services would be critical as companies expand into international markets.
ZB highlighted pre- and post-shipment finance to address working-capital gaps, letters of credit and bank guarantees to provide payment assurance, international buyer and seller screening, and multi-currency accounts covering currencies including the US dollar, euro, South African rand and Chinese yuan.
The bank also emphasised the importance of exporters becoming “bankable” before seeking larger facilities.
This includes maintaining separate business accounts, clean financial records, audited or management accounts, cash-flow forecasts, proper tax and export registrations, and complete know-your-customer documentation.
ZB is also establishing a footprint in the UAE through its DIFC branch, with the stated objective of supporting Zimbabwean exporters trading between Zimbabwe, the UAE and the wider GCC.
The bank says the presence will provide access to structured trade credit, faster cross-border settlement and mechanisms to reduce counterparty risk.
For exporters, the UAE opportunity therefore extends beyond finding a buyer.
It involves meeting market standards, securing working capital, managing foreign-exchange and payment risks, ensuring reliable logistics and building sufficient production capacity to fulfil international orders.
The ZIBCO presentation identified beneficiation as another priority, arguing that more value should be retained in Zimbabwe before products are exported.
The council also wants diversification to reduce reliance on a single commodity and make the Zimbabwe-UAE trade corridor more resilient.
This fits into ZIBCO’s broader effort to convert business introductions into actual transactions. The council says several discussions emerging from previous business missions and indabas are now in commercial follow-up.
Makamahadze said the focus should ultimately shift from attendance at business events to measurable commercial outcomes.
“Trade agreements and new routes do not create trade on their own; prepared businesses do,” he said ahead of the indaba.
The two-day Exporters’ Indaba is being held in Harare and Bulawayo, with the Bulawayo edition scheduled for September 30, as ZIBCO seeks to widen participation beyond the capital.
The initiative comes as Zimbabwe and the UAE deepen their commercial relationship, with a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement under negotiation and Etihad Airways expected to introduce direct Abu Dhabi-Harare flights from March 2027.
For Zimbabwean businesses, the emerging opportunity is therefore twofold: use the UAE’s existing demand and logistics infrastructure to expand exports, while developing products and services that can compete in international markets.
The immediate question is no longer whether the UAE is a significant market for Zimbabwe.
It is whether local businesses can build the capacity, financing, standards and value-added products required to turn that growing corridor into a broader export opportunity.
