The first stock exchange in Zimbabwe opened shortly after the arrival of the Pioneer Column in Bulawayo in 1896.

The Mutare Exchange, also opened in 1896, thrived on the success of local mining, but with the realization that deposits in the area were not extensive, activity declined and it closed in 1924.

After World War II, a new exchange was founded in Bulawayo by Alfred Mulock Bentley and dealing started in January 1946.

[3] A second floor was opened in Salisbury (Harare) in December 1951 and trading between the two centers took place by telephone.

Traders continued working by telephone until it was decided that legislation should be enacted to govern the rights and obligations of the members of the exchange and the general investing public.