Zimbabwe Targets Zambian Trade Push to Deconstruct Commodity Reliance

Zimbabwean firms are pivoting toward services to break a historic reliance on raw commodity exports, launching a targeted trade blitz into neighboring Zambia next week.

More than 30 companies spanning agriculture, building, and construction services will descend on Lusaka from June 9-11. The trade mission, orchestrated by national promotion body ZimTrade and hosted at the InterContinental Hotel, marks a calculated effort to tap into Zambia’s rapidly expanding infrastructure development and modernized farming sectors.

The three-day summit arrives as Harare aggressively chases its Vision 2030 economic blueprint, which mandates a $14 billion annual export target. Achieving that milestone requires a steep 15% annual growth rate in services exports, alongside a 10% lift in goods. Facing persistent foreign currency pressures, Zimbabwean policymakers view high-margin professional services such as agricultural consultancy and engineering as an untapped well for hard currency generation.

“Markets such as Zambia provide an important platform for Zimbabwean firms to commercialise their expertise, expand their regional footprint, and generate foreign currency earnings,” ZimTrade Chief Executive Officer Allan Majuru said, noting the delegation will include small-and-medium enterprises alongside women- and youth-led businesses.

The offensive builds on a scouting mission by ZimTrade last year, which flagged a deficit in specialized technical support within Zambia’s building sector. By broadening this year’s scope to include agricultural tech and consultancy, Zimbabwe is attempting to leverage its domestic agronomic expertise into a regional export product.

While cross-border commerce between the two southern African neighbors has traditionally been dominated by physical manufacturing and agricultural goods, geographic proximity and overlapping membership in regional trade blocs make Lusaka a natural testing ground for Zimbabwe’s service-led expansion. The three-day itinerary will focus on high-level business-to-business matchmaking and structural market entry strategies designed to secure long-term commercial contracts.