Zimbabwe’s dollar-denominated Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX). established in 2020, has surpassed expectations in terms of new listings and its capacity to facilitate capital raisings, a senior official has said.

State-owned daily Chronicle cited VFEX head Justin Bgoni on September 23 as saying that the next step will be to grow the platform into an international financial services centre.

“We are very happy with what we have seen so far in terms of new listings, in terms of capital raised,” he said. “The exchange is now ripe to go to the next level, where we can raise money for bigger projects that can help the country.”

Bgoni said the time is now “to create an international financial centre in Zimbabwe that has got banks, insurance companies and be able to generate even more development income into the country”.

VFEX could serve as the anchor for a future international financial services centre in Victoria Falls, modelled loosely on hubs such as Mauritius or Botswana’s IFSC. The idea is to cluster banks, insurers, asset managers and capital-market players around a USD-denominated exchange, leveraging incentives like zero capital gains tax and free dividend repatriation.

While the concept has strong political backing, success could hinge on Zimbabwe addressing chronic policy instability, building credible regulation, and generating sufficient liquidity to attract global institutions.

VFEX has 17 counters, including gold miner Caledonia Mining Corp, which is also listed in New York and London; pan African seed producer SeedCo; natural gas explorer and developer Invictus Energy, which is primarily listed on the ASX; and crocodile-skin producer Padenga Holdings.

Firms listed on the exchange enjoy a number of incentives, including zero capital gains tax, flexible repatriation of dividends and a reduced local currency risk as it trades in the greenback. (Zimbabwe debuted the gold-backed ZiG in April 2024, its sixth attempt at a functioning local currency since 2009).

Bgoni recalled a recent visit to VFEX by officials from the Malawi Stock Exchange who, he said, were surprised to learn it has had 17 listings in five years, whilst the Blantyre-based bourse has had no listing since 2018.

Reuters reported earlier that VFEX turnover stood at $15mn in Q2 2025, with average foreign participation at about 18.7%, supporting a case that some investors use VFEX for hard-currency exposure even as broader market caps slipped.

VFEX’s weaknesses centre on thin liquidity, narrow sectoral concentration, and limited investor depth. Daily turnover is often modest, with a handful of mining and agro-export counters dominating activity.

Whilst its USD structure is unique in the region, and it has grown faster than some peers, it remains a minnow compared to larger, more liquid markets (such as Kenya, Namibia, and Zambia).