How Zimbabwe won bid to host IATF headquarters

Zimbabwe has won the right to host the permanent headquarters of the Intra-African Trade Fair Company (IATFCO), edging out competition from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malawi, Zambia and South Africa, thanks to its conferencing facilities, robust air connectivity and capacity to accommodate large delegations.

The decision was announced earlier this month by outgoing Afreximbank president Benedict Oramah, who confirmed that the IATF co-founders had resolved to transform the trade fair into a standalone institution with its base in Zimbabwe. IATF was co-founded by Afreximbank, the African Union Commission and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat to boost intra-African trade.

Olusegun Obasanjo, chairperson of the IATF Advisory Council and former Nigerian president, said Zimbabwe was "competitively selected" because it not only met the technical requirements but also pledged land for expansion.

"This opens a new chapter for IATF as it continues powering growth in intra-African trade and playing its role as the most important trade and investment gathering on the continent," Obasanjo said.

He added that IATF had become a symbol of Africa's economic awakening, helping realise AfCFTA's ambition of a single market of more than 1,4 billion people with a GDP of over US$3,5 trillion.

To strengthen the new company, Afreximbank has injected a seed capital of US$28 million. Oramah urged African governments, corporations and financial institutions to rally behind the initiative during its early growth stages.

Since its inception, IATF has hosted successful trade fairs in 2018, 2021, 2023 and 2025, serving as a platform for businesses to showcase products and services, explore partnerships, and sign deals.

The latest edition, IATF2025, held from September 4-10 in Algiers, Algeria, drew over 112 000 visitors from 132 countries and facilitated trade and investment deals worth US$48,3 billion, surpassing the US$43,8 billion recorded in 2023 in Cairo, Egypt.

With the new headquarters to be built in Zimbabwe, the country is set to take a central role in shaping Africa's trade integration agenda.