Venture Capital in Zimbabwe: Local & international funds that once supported MSMEs

The Venture Capital Company of Zimbabwe (VCCZ) was not the only such entity in Zimbabwe. In fact, there were more that were offering entrepreneurs and businesses early-stage investment for equity. But before we go into all that let’s take a look at Zimbabwe’s Capital Markets in and around that time to get an overview image of the financial ecosystem…

Capital Markets in Zimbabwe

“Zimbabwe's capital market is unique on the African continent, and perhaps in the world. It may be the most sophisticated private financial infrastructure operating in any developing country” - Capital Markets of Zimbabwe, K. R. Locklin 1982

It was by no means a perfect system and it’s not in a bid to romanticise the past but what post-colonial Zimbabwe inherited was, by the accounts we have read, exceptional for the time. 

“Like the City of London model, the Zimbabwean financial system is complete and self-sufficient, and the realm within normal of commercial requirements provides the full spectrum of financial services required by both individuals and corporations.” - Capital Markets of Zimbabwe, K. R. Locklin 1982