HARARE – The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with Lloyd Corporate Capital in a move aimed at expanding access to growth capital for high-potential small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Exchange (ZEEX), deepening the country’s capital markets and accelerating business formalisation.
The partnership, announced in a joint statement, seeks to bridge one of Zimbabwe’s most persistent economic challenges—the financing gap facing SMEs—by connecting investment-ready businesses with structured private capital and regulated capital market financing.
The initiative comes at a time when Zimbabwe is seeking to formalise its predominantly informal economy, stimulate entrepreneurship and mobilise private sector investment in support of Vision 2030.
According to the joint press statement, the partnership is designed to mobilise private-sector financing capacity for high-growth enterprises seeking capital through ZEEX, Zimbabwe’s recently established digital entrepreneurship exchange.
“Grounded in a shared vision that Zimbabwe’s most promising enterprises require access to sophisticated, commercially structured financing solutions, the partnership brings Lloyd Corporate Capital’s innovative financing expertise into alignment with ZSE’s regulated capital market infrastructure,” the statement said.
The partners said the collaboration would create “a new and powerful channel for scaling businesses on their path to formal market participation,” with particular emphasis on enterprises in Bulawayo, Matabeleland and surrounding regions.
Market analysts say the initiative reflects a growing recognition that Zimbabwe’s next phase of economic growth will depend not only on attracting foreign investment but also on improving domestic capital allocation to scalable local enterprises.
The agreement establishes five core areas of cooperation intended to strengthen Zimbabwe’s entrepreneurial finance ecosystem.
The first focuses on pipeline development through the identification, screening and prioritisation of high-potential, growth-oriented SMEs supported by Lloyd Corporate Capital.
The second centres on blended finance and co-investment structures that combine institutional capital with private-sector financing to prepare businesses for listing on ZEEX.
Capacity building forms another pillar of the partnership, with both organisations committing to deliver training programmes covering corporate governance, financial reporting standards, investor readiness and listing requirements.
The parties will also jointly undertake market development initiatives through investor forums, roadshows and SME financing conferences designed to showcase investment-ready businesses.
Finally, the partnership will explore innovative financial products, including SME bond programmes, structured growth capital, private placements, sustainability-linked finance and specialised SME investment funds.
Industry experts believe these initiatives could help address longstanding weaknesses in Zimbabwe’s entrepreneurial financing landscape, where many promising businesses struggle to transition from owner-managed enterprises to investment-ready companies.
ZSE Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Justin Bgoni said Lloyd Corporate Capital brings commercial expertise that complements ZEEX’s objective of creating a structured pathway for SMEs into Zimbabwe’s formal capital markets.
“Lloyd Corporate Capital is bringing a commercially viable, private sector capability to structure and deploy financing solutions that are precisely calibrated to what a growth business actually needs at each stage of its journey,” Bgoni said.
“ZEEX is built to serve businesses that are ready to step into the formal capital market, and Lloyd Corporate Capital’s involvement means that more of those businesses will arrive at that threshold genuinely prepared, adequately capitalised and structurally sound. That is exactly the kind of ecosystem-building that will define ZEEX’s long-term impact.”
His remarks underscore an important challenge facing many African SMEs: access to finance alone is often insufficient without improvements in governance, financial reporting and institutional capacity.
Lloyd Corporate Capital Chairman Bekithemba L. Nkomo said the partnership creates a structured progression from private capital into regulated public markets.
“For over a decade, Lloyd Corporate Capital has worked alongside owners and management teams across Southern Africa to prepare growth businesses for their next stage of funding,” Nkomo said.
“Partnering with ZSE gives the enterprises we support a clear, regulated pathway from private capital into the formal market, and gives ZEEX a pipeline of businesses that have already been through the discipline of proper structuring, governance and advisory support. This MoU turns two complementary strengths into a single, seamless route from early-stage growth capital to public market participation.”
Analysts say one of the biggest weaknesses in African capital markets has been the absence of structured pathways connecting venture capital, private equity and public equity markets. The partnership seeks to address that gap by integrating business development, advisory services and capital market access within a single financing ecosystem.
The ZSE said the agreement strengthens the growing network of institutions supporting ZEEX.
“With each new partnership formalised, ZSE continues to assemble an increasingly comprehensive ecosystem of capital market enablers around ZEEX,” the statement said.
“The signing of this MoU with Lloyd Corporate Capital further reinforces the depth and diversity of that ecosystem, ensuring that the platform is supported by a well-rounded support network capable of serving enterprises at every stage of their growth and financing journey.”
ZEEX, recently approved as Zimbabwe’s dedicated entrepreneurship exchange, is designed to provide SMEs with access to primary fundraising, asset tokenisation and secondary-market trading within a regulated environment.
The platform is expected to play a central role in broadening access to capital while encouraging the formalisation of growth-oriented enterprises.
The partnership represents more than a corporate agreement; it reflects a broader evolution in Zimbabwe’s financial architecture.
For decades, access to long-term growth capital has remained one of the greatest constraints facing SMEs, which account for the overwhelming majority of businesses in Zimbabwe but contribute only modestly to formal capital markets.
By linking advisory services, blended finance, governance support and eventual capital market participation, the ZSE and Lloyd Corporate Capital are attempting to build what economists describe as a financing continuum—a system in which businesses can progressively access increasingly sophisticated sources of capital as they mature.
If successfully implemented, the initiative could expand Zimbabwe’s pipeline of investment-ready companies, deepen domestic capital markets, increase institutional investment opportunities and strengthen private-sector participation in economic growth.
For Zimbabwe, where formalising the SME sector remains central to economic transformation, the partnership signals an important step towards developing a more inclusive and diversified capital market capable of financing the country’s next generation of high-growth enterprises.
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