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Harare to host Intra-African Trade Fair headquarters
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Harare has been selected to host the headquarters of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF), in a landmark move to transform Africa's biggest trade fair platform into a standalone institution.
The IATF was established by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat to boost intra-African trade. Since its inception, it has staged fairs in 2018, 2021, 2023, with the 2025 edition currently underway in Algiers, Algeria.
Announcing the decision, Afreximbank president Benedict Oramah said the fair had matured into a solid platform that could now be institutionalised.
"The [IATF] Advisory Council has approved Harare, Zimbabwe, as the new headquarters of a new independent IATF entity," Oramah said at the opening of IATF 2025.
"I congratulate the government of Zimbabwe for putting up a very strong bid and hope it will work assiduously with the council to quickly open the IATF as an independent, sustainable organisation in Harare."
Oramah revealed that Afreximbank would inject US$28 million into the new entity, calling on African governments, corporations and financial institutions to support it in its early stages. The long-term goal, he said, was to ensure the organisation becomes financially sustainable.
The decision is widely seen as a vote of confidence in Zimbabwe. Harare already hosts Afreximbank's regional office for southern Africa, while the Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre, now under construction, is expected to be completed by year-end.
The IATF is designed as a marketplace for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) exchanges, enabling companies and states to share trade and investment opportunities, resolve challenges affecting intra-African trade, and forge deals.
The platform has grown into one of the key pillars supporting the AfCFTA's agenda of deepening regional integration. At the 2023 edition in Cairo, Egypt, trade and investment deals worth US$43.8 billion were concluded, while this year's fair in Algiers is expected to surpass US$44 billion in signed agreements.
The IATF was established by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat to boost intra-African trade. Since its inception, it has staged fairs in 2018, 2021, 2023, with the 2025 edition currently underway in Algiers, Algeria.
Announcing the decision, Afreximbank president Benedict Oramah said the fair had matured into a solid platform that could now be institutionalised.
"The [IATF] Advisory Council has approved Harare, Zimbabwe, as the new headquarters of a new independent IATF entity," Oramah said at the opening of IATF 2025.
"I congratulate the government of Zimbabwe for putting up a very strong bid and hope it will work assiduously with the council to quickly open the IATF as an independent, sustainable organisation in Harare."
The decision is widely seen as a vote of confidence in Zimbabwe. Harare already hosts Afreximbank's regional office for southern Africa, while the Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre, now under construction, is expected to be completed by year-end.
The IATF is designed as a marketplace for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) exchanges, enabling companies and states to share trade and investment opportunities, resolve challenges affecting intra-African trade, and forge deals.
The platform has grown into one of the key pillars supporting the AfCFTA's agenda of deepening regional integration. At the 2023 edition in Cairo, Egypt, trade and investment deals worth US$43.8 billion were concluded, while this year's fair in Algiers is expected to surpass US$44 billion in signed agreements.
Source - Newsday
