As Angola prepares to launch its own commodity exchange, the country is turning to Zimbabwe’s successful ZMX platform for guidance. A recent high-level visit by Angolan officials to Harare highlights growing regional cooperation and a shared vision for modern, transparent agricultural markets across Southern Africa.
Angola is turning to Zimbabwe’s Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) as a blueprint for developing its own commodity exchange, as it seeks to close structural gaps in agricultural market efficiency and transparency.
A delegation from Angola’s Bolsa de Dívida e Valores de Angola (BODIVA), led by Chief Executive Officer Cristina Lourenço, visited Harare today on a knowledge-sharing mission. The team was welcomed by Zimbabwe’s Permanent Secretary for Agriculture, Professor Dr. Obert Jiri, and senior officials from ZMX.
Angola currently lacks a formal commodity exchange an institutional gap that has led to limited price discovery, reduced farmer confidence, and inefficient market access. In contrast, Zimbabwe’s ZMX has gained recognition across the region for bringing structure and transparency to agricultural trading through digital platforms and liberalized market policies.
“ZMX represents what we aspire to build in Angola,” said Lourenço. “We are impressed by Zimbabwe’s progress and look forward to applying these insights at home.”
Professor Jiri shared Zimbabwe’s journey, noting that past centralized grain trading models had suppressed innovation and market participation. Government intervention through market liberalisation, he said, paved the way for ZMX’s launch correcting earlier policy missteps and empowering producers.
“The creation of ZMX was a strategic response to long-standing inefficiencies,” Jiri explained. “It has transformed how agricultural commodities are traded in Zimbabwe.”
ZMX officials presented key features of the exchange, including digital warehousing, farmer registration, and real-time commodity pricing. The visit is expected to open doors for technical collaboration between Angola and Zimbabwe as Angola lays the groundwork for its own platform.
This development signals Angola’s commitment to modernizing its agricultural economy and addressing systemic market gaps through targeted government-led reforms inspired by regional success stories.
