Intra-African Trade Fair to open permanent base in Harare

The Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) is to become an independent, permanent institution headquartered in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe was chosen to host the headquarters of the Intra-African Trade Fair Company, which was unveiled during the Intra-African Trade Fair 2025 (IATF2025) in Algiers. Harare beat opposing bids from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malawi, Zambia and South Africa.

The IATF said that the move is “aimed at making the fair sustainable, scalable and deeply aligned to the vision of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”

The IATF’s flagship event is co-convened biennially by Afreximbank, the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat. IATF 2025 was attended by more than 112,000 visitors from 132 countries, and over 2,000 exhibitors. Organisers said that the conference witnessed the unveiling of $48.3bn in trade and investment deals signed over the seven days of the exposition. Nigeria will host the fifth IATF in 2027.

IATF advisory council chairman and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said: “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. IATF is a symbol of Africa’s economic awakening, where the power of trade and investment unifies us from across regions of the African continent and breathes life to the ambition of the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA.

Obasanjo said that Zimbabwe was selected for its conferencing facilities, air connectivity, accommodation capacity and pledged land for expansion.

Call for capitalisation

President and chairman of the board of directors of at Afreximbank Benedict Oramah called for the new company to be well capitalised by African governments, companies and banks to help it thrive.

“This is a huge milestone for IATF. It is encouraging that the board of Afreximbank has approved an initial capitalisation of $28m for the institution. While we anticipate that the organisation would strive for financial sustainability, I would like to seize this opportunity to call on African governments, corporations, and financial institutions to support it during its early teething stage,” Oramah said.

IATF is a platform for businesses to showcase their goods and services to visitors and buyers while exploring opportunities and exchanging information. It aims to tap into opportunities from the AfCFTA’s single market of over 1.4 billion people and GDP of over $3.5 trillion.