Trade facilitation specialist and digital economy advocate to lead initiatives advancing cross-border commerce, foreign direct investment, SME development, and regional economic integration in Zimbabwe.

 

SINGAPORE / BULAWAYO, ZIMBABWE — The International Trade Council (ITC) has officially announced the appointment of Jermaine James Chapfiwa as Zimbabwe Country Representative. In this role, Mr. Chapfiwa will lead the Council’s efforts to support Zimbabwean businesses and institutions, spearheading initiatives designed to advance international trade facilitation, attract foreign direct investment, strengthen SME export readiness, and deepen Zimbabwe’s integration into regional and global markets.

 

Mr. Chapfiwa brings more than a decade of experience in international trade facilitation, business development, digital transformation, and investment promotion. As Director of Instant Solutions and Consultancy, he has worked to support market access and commercial development for enterprises across Southern Africa. His background in structured trade facilitation, supply chain optimisation, and the adoption of digital tools positions him to connect Zimbabwean businesses — particularly small and medium-sized enterprises — to the ITC’s global network of corporate members, trade intelligence platforms, and investor relationships.

 

Under Mr. Chapfiwa’s leadership, the ITC Zimbabwe chapter will work to establish a collaborative platform connecting local exporters, corporate entities, and policy stakeholders to international markets and investment opportunities. Drawing on the ITC’s network of more than 28,000 corporate members across 176 countries, the Zimbabwe chapter will focus on delivering practical trade and investment outcomes — including export market access, investor introductions, business matchmaking, trade compliance support, and participation in ITC’s international events and trade missions — to enhance the competitiveness of Zimbabwean enterprises within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

 

“Zimbabwe has the resource endowments, the entrepreneurial talent, and the policy intent to be a serious participant in regional and global trade. What our private sector — and our SMEs in particular — needs is structured access: to international buyers, to verified trade intelligence, to foreign investment, and to the institutional networks that translate potential into tangible commercial outcomes.

The African Continental Free Trade Area represents a generational opportunity for Zimbabwe, and the ITC provides the global network, the trade intelligence tools, and the investment facilitation infrastructure to help us capture it. My focus will be on building genuine, commercially grounded connections — between Zimbabwean exporters and international markets, between our investment sectors and global capital, and between our businesses and the partnerships that drive sustainable growth.

I am committed to making this representation count for Zimbabwe’s businesses, our investment promotion agenda, and our broader economic development goals.”

— Jermaine James Chapfiwa, Zimbabwe Country Representative, International Trade Council

 

“Zimbabwe occupies an important position in the Southern African trade and investment landscape, and we are committed to ensuring that Zimbabwean businesses have meaningful access to the ITC’s global network, tools, and opportunities. Jermaine Chapfiwa brings to this role the kind of on-the-ground market knowledge and professional credibility that makes country representation effective rather than nominal.

His experience in trade facilitation, SME development, digital transformation, and investment promotion aligns directly with what the ITC is working to achieve in Zimbabwe and across the continent. We are confident that under his stewardship, the Zimbabwe chapter will develop into a meaningful platform for trade, investment, and economic growth in the region.”

— Ranjani Rangan, Chairperson, International Trade Council

 

Goals for the Zimbabwe Chapter

  • Establish structured platforms connecting Zimbabwean exporters, manufacturers, and SMEs to international buyers, distributors, and strategic investors through the ITC’s global corporate network.
  • Support foreign direct investment attraction across Zimbabwe’s priority sectors — including mining and minerals beneficiation, agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing, tourism, and the digital economy — through ITC’s investor matchmaking, investment missions, and global visibility platforms.
  • Promote the adoption of digital trade tools and modern trade technologies — including AI-powered trade intelligence, export compliance systems, and business development platforms — to improve the international competitiveness of Zimbabwean enterprises.
  • Deliver actionable trade intelligence, export readiness training, and market access resources to help Zimbabwean businesses navigate international regulatory frameworks and expand into new markets, including under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
  • Strengthen collaborative partnerships between the private sector, chambers of commerce, government trade and investment promotion agencies, and regional and multilateral organisations to advance Zimbabwe’s trade and economic development agenda.
  • Provide strategic export market origination services to large-scale producers and manufacturers seeking to identify and access high-volume import markets — conducting structured demand-side market intelligence to match suppliers’ production capacity with markets where import absorption capacity, procurement requirements, and regulatory conditions are aligned with their export proposition.

 

About Jermaine James Chapfiwa

Jermaine James Chapfiwa is a trade facilitation specialist, business development practitioner, and digital economy advocate based in Zimbabwe. He is the Director of Instant Solutions and Consultancy (Private) Limited, trading as African Dominion Group, through which he has worked to advance market access, structured trade facilitation, and digital business enablement for enterprises across Southern Africa.

With more than a decade of experience spanning international trade facilitation, export development, SME internationalisation, investment promotion, digital transformation, and corporate governance, Mr. Chapfiwa has built a professional focus on connecting Zimbabwean and regional businesses to international opportunities. His work reflects a sustained commitment to supply chain optimisation, trade compliance, and the integration of emerging enterprises into global value chains, supported by practical engagement with the tools and technologies that underpin modern cross-border commerce. A particular area of expertise is export market origination — the structured identification of high-volume import markets for large-scale producers and manufacturers, matching supplier capacity with markets where demand volumes, procurement frameworks, and regulatory conditions are commercially viable.

Mr. Chapfiwa has been recognised for his contributions to entrepreneurship and digital innovation, including through the Legacy Laureate Award for Youth Advocacy and Digital Innovation Excellence and recognition through the National Iconic Entrepreneurs Awards by the Entrepreneurs Network of Zimbabwe and was the 2025 Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2nd Runner Up Award Winner for The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce Matabeleland Regional Awards.

 

About the International Trade Council

Founded in 1956, the International Trade Council (ITC) is an independent, peak-body chamber of commerce headquartered in Singapore, supporting governments, trade institutions, investment promotion agencies, and businesses to achieve measurable outcomes in foreign direct investment attraction, export market development, and institutional capacity building. The ITC operates across 176 countries and counts more than 28,000 corporate members, 418 national chambers of commerce and industry associations, and 79 government export promotion and FDI agency members within its global network.

In 2025, the ITC facilitated over USD 3 billion in inbound foreign direct investment and generated close to USD 2.8 billion in export sales for its members. The ITC’s service portfolio spans FDI attraction and investor matchmaking, export market promotion, trade compliance education, international conferences and trade missions, AI-powered trade intelligence through its subsidiary platform ADAMftd, and structured capacity building through the International Trade Council Academy. As a non-lobbying organisation, the ITC maintains an impartial, evidence-based approach across all of its activities. Learn more at www.tradecouncil.org.

 

Media & Chapter Contacts

Press / Media

Contact:  Jessica Jumaway
Role:  PR & Media Manager, International Trade Council
Email:  [email protected]
Headquarters:  Singapore

 

Zimbabwe Country Representative

Name:  Jermaine James Chapfiwa
Title:  Zimbabwe Country Representative, International Trade Council
Organisation:  Instant Solutions and Consultancy (Pvt) Ltd T/A African Dominion Group
Email:  [email protected]
Phone:  +263 777 399 963
Website:  www.africandominiongroup.com
LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jermaine-chapfiwa-07213a46/