Business Correspondent
Zimbabwe has emerged as one of Africa’s best-performing equity markets in 2026, with the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) All Share Index delivering a 67.67 percent year-to-date gain in local currency, according to the latest market performance data.
The performance places Zimbabwe second behind Tanzania among the African markets tracked in the latest review, highlighting the strong rally on the local bourse despite the country’s challenging economic environment.
The latest figures reinforce the dramatic turnaround on the local bourse this year, with the ZSE increasingly attracting attention from investors seeking high returns in African frontier markets.
The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange led the continent, with its All Share Index rising 69.52 percent since the beginning of the year.
Zimbabwe followed closely, while Nigeria’s NGX All-Share Index recorded a 62.01 percent gain in local currency terms.
The figures, based on trading data to the end of last week, show a sharp divergence in the performance of African equity markets, with several frontier exchanges significantly outperforming some of the continent’s larger markets.
In US dollar terms, Zimbabwe’s performance was even stronger, with the ZSE delivering a 63.59 percent return for the year.
Nigeria, however, recorded the strongest dollar-denominated return among the three leading markets, at 76.05 percent, while Tanzania posted a 56.80 percent return.
The ZSE All Share Index gained a further 2.86 percent during the week, closing at 465.90.
The strong performance comes after Zimbabwe’s stock market emerged as Africa’s best-performing equity market earlier in the year, overtaking Nigeria amid renewed investor appetite for local shares.
Ghana, Rwanda and Uganda also shine
Other African markets also recorded substantial gains.
Ghana’s GSE Composite Index rose 58.34 percent in local currency terms year-to-date, although its US dollar return was lower at 42.63 percent.
The West African regional bourse, BRVM, which serves eight countries, recorded a 56.41 percent local-currency return and a 51.81 percent gain in US dollar terms.
Uganda’s Securities Exchange recorded a 54.63 percent year-to-date gain in local currency, translating to a 46.29 percent return in US dollar terms.
Rwanda recorded a 43.98 percent local-currency gain and an 41.86 percent return in US dollar terms.
Kenya also posted a strong performance, with the Nairobi Securities Exchange All Share Index gaining 33.19 percent year-to-date in local currency and 32.48 percent in dollar terms.
The gains underline a broader resurgence in African frontier equity markets. Recent market analysis has similarly shown strong performances from smaller African exchanges, with investors increasingly seeking opportunities beyond the continent’s traditionally dominant markets.
South Africa, Morocco lag
The performance picture was markedly different in some of Africa’s larger markets.
South Africa’s JSE All Share Index was down 4.32 percent in rand terms year-to-date and 2.81 percent in US dollar terms.
Morocco’s MASI was also in negative territory, falling 5.46 percent in local currency and 10.17 percent in dollar terms.
Mauritius recorded a 2.26 percent decline in local currency, while Zambia was almost flat at -0.19 percent in local currency, although currency movements gave the Lusaka Securities Exchange a 13.07 percent return in US dollar terms.
Malawi was the weakest performer in the latest comparison, with its All Share Index falling 18.12 percent in local currency and 18.57 percent in dollar terms.
