Building bridges between Zimbabwe’s diaspora and businesses at home

When Allen Mutape, a businessman in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, founded his company in 2013, he knew there were clients out there: Zimbabweans in the diaspora eager to build homes back home. But for years, he struggled to reach them. 

His company, Capitreq Construction, specialises in civil engineering and building construction, all types of architectural work, renovations and general construction work. Despite this wide range of services, Mutape faced two major challenges for a long time: finding trustworthy customers and receiving payments from customers abroad. “We offer a complete package from house plans and civil works to the final finishes. But connecting with reliable clients overseas and getting paid safely was always a challenge,” he said.

That changed when Capitreq Construction joined Zimuntu, a new online business directory linking African businesses with customers across borders. “Businesspeople like me want to work with someone they can trust,” Mutape explains. “Through Zimuntu, clients can check who we are, see our work and make payments safely. More than half of our clients today are Zimbabweans abroad.”

Traders across Zimbabwe use Zimuntu to update listings, respond to enquiries and confirm orders. According to Emmanuel Kamhara, Managing Director of Zimuntu, many companies say inquiries from the diaspora have become routine, often leading to long-term partnerships. “Zimuntu is quietly changing how Africans do business by making cross-border transactions simpler, safer and more reliable,” he says.

The platform has three main areas: it connects Africans in the diaspora to local businesses, links them to verified providers for low-risk transactions and helps African businesses reach suppliers and service providers abroad.

By strengthening African trade links, the platform also supports broader regional goals such as accelerating intra-African trade through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), one of the flagship projects of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Speaking at Zimbabwe Export Week in Bulawayo last year in 2024, Albert Chimbindi, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, said that businesses should adapt to the requirements of the global market in fields like production, compliance, logistics and digitisation.

For Allen Mutape, Capitreq Construction’s success since joining Zimuntu proves the value of digital connections. “Before, we relied on embassies and referrals. Now we are working directly with Zimbabweans in the diaspora. It has brought globalisation to our doorstep.

Lungelo Ndhlovu is a freelance journalist based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
ndlovu.lungelo@gmail.com