Financial Gazette says Zimbabwe’s Comesa chairmanship matters to businesses
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Financial Gazette (Zimbabwe)
According to Financial Gazette, the Comesa chairmanship, held by Zimbabwe until 2027, influences the business environment. The bloc has 21 states and more than 640 million people, but its intra-regional exports fell to about 13 billion dollars in 2025, from 18 billion in 2023.
In an opinion piece published by Financial Gazette, Bothwell P. Nyajeka argues that Zimbabwe’s chairmanship of Comesa, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, should interest business leaders and not only politicians. President Emmerson Mnangagwa succeeded Kenya’s William Ruto at the 25th Comesa summit in Harare on 22 October 2026. Zimbabwe leads the bloc until 2027.
The author notes that the 21 member states, from Egypt and Tunisia to Eswatini, form a market of more than 640 million people. According to Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, their combined GDP is about 1,200 billion dollars. But trade between members remains low: intra-Comesa exports were about 13 billion dollars in 2025, compared with a peak of 18 billion in 2023.
The author therefore urges boards to broaden their geographic horizons and to factor regional demand into their decisions on production capacity, standards, distribution and investment. He cites the example of a manufacturer whose local market appears too narrow, an agricultural company that would sell processed products to neighbouring states, or a financial institution active in regional payments and insurance.
The summit was held under the theme "One Market, One Future", devoted to inclusive industrialisation, investment and regional integration. Emmerson Mnangagwa had taken over the Comesa chairmanship by championing regional industrialisation.
