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Afreximbank’s African Trade Centre in Harare is about 80% complete, marking a significant step towards a new regional hub for trade finance, investment and business services in Southern Africa.
Completion target moves to 2027
Stanley Sachikonye, Afreximbank’s manager for client relations in Southern Africa, said on Friday that the development is on course for completion in the first quarter of 2027.
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He made the update at the launch of Afreximbank’s African Trade and Distribution Company Zimbabwe in Harare, according to Zimbabwe’s Herald. The bank has also begun securing corporate tenants for office space at the complex.
The scheme will house Afreximbank’s permanent Southern Africa regional office, giving the continent-wide lender a fixed operational base in Zimbabwe for work across the Southern African Development Community.
A trade infrastructure project, not only a building
Afreximbank says its African Trade Centre model is designed to combine regional banking operations with trade-enabling facilities. The Harare site is planned to include a hotel, conference space, a trade-information centre and office accommodation for financial, development and trade institutions.
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The bank first announced the wider trade-centre programme in 2017, presenting it as a network of integrated commercial hubs intended to help African firms access finance, market intelligence, partners and export opportunities. Zimbabwe formally granted land for the Harare project in 2021, with construction scheduled to begin the following year.
For businesses, the value of the centre will depend on whether it translates its prominent location and facilities into practical access to credit, guarantees, trade information and export support. Those are persistent needs for small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to sell beyond national borders.
Why it matters
The project is closely tied to the African Continental Free Trade Area, which aims to lower barriers to commerce across African markets. Harare’s centre is intended to support that ambition by bringing trade-finance services and business networks closer to companies operating in Zimbabwe and the wider SADC region.
For Black entrepreneurs, producers and exporters across Southern Africa, stronger Africa-based trade infrastructure can reduce reliance on distant financial centres and help local firms compete for regional supply contracts. It also signals continued investment by a pan-African institution in Zimbabwe at a time when expanding formal trade links remains central to economic resilience.
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Afreximbank has described the facility as part of a broader push to position African cities as centres where cross-border commercial deals can be financed, negotiated and supported. The immediate test will be delivery against the new 2027 deadline and the extent to which the finished centre serves businesses beyond major corporations.