India–Zimbabwe trade is on a growth trajectory, and both sides have signaled the need to turn rising engagement into concrete business transactions following yesterday’s hybrid trade and investment seminar hosted at the Hyatt Regency Meikles in Harare.
The event — convened by the Embassy of India in partnership with the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) — brought together nearly 300 Indian exporters online and around 60 Zimbabwean companies in the room, making FIEO’s participation the backbone of business-to-business interaction.
Exporters and buyers exchanged queries directly, particularly around market access and financing challenges affecting small-capital firms looking to penetrate African markets.
Trade figures shared during the session reflect upward movement. Zimbabwe’s exports to India reached US$46 million, while Indian investment in Zimbabwe has now exceeded US$600 million, supporting more than 15,000 jobs, mainly in agro-processing, beverages and pharmaceuticals.
Delegates agreed that the next step is accelerating deal-flow through joint ventures, technology-transfer partnerships and value-added manufacturing.
Representing ZIDA, Chief Investment Promotion Officer Silibaziso Chizwina highlighted the agency’s ongoing digitisation reforms enabling offshore investors to register Zimbabwean companies online — a tool meant to reduce administrative delays, not a new launch, but positioned as part of broader ease-of-business progress.
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Zimtrade Manager-Export Development Tatenda Marume spoke of Zimbabwe’s avocado and blueberries as some of the targets that Indian businesses could look at importing from Zimbabwe.
Deputy Industry Minister Hon. Raj Modi encouraged companies to move beyond introductory dialogue and pursue practical collaboration.
Local SMEs raised concerns over delivery risk, citing cases where imported machinery remained undelivered a year after full payment — an issue that stakeholders say requires safeguards if trade is to deepen sustainably.
Structured follow-up B2B sessions are expected to continue in the coming weeks to convert negotiations into executable contracts.
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