Last week, we took a look at sub-Saharan Africa’s top-performing stocks of 2011. Zimbabwean firms dominated the list. In light of this, I thought it might be helpful to run through the details of actually buying and selling stock on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

Before I begin, however, let me state clearly that investing in Zimbabwe, in my view, entails a significantly higher degree of political risk than does investing in most other sub-Saharan markets. The government of national unity between Mugabe’s ZANU-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC is fragile at best, so don’t invest any money that you can’t afford to lose.

That said, if you’re comfortable with the risks, you’ll find a lot of interesting companies among the exchange’s 78 listed stocks. Moreover, because the Zimbabwean economy has been dollarized, currency risk is not an issue for U.S. investors.

Zimbabwean Stockbrokers

My previous experience investing in Zimbabwe was as an institutional investor. This is a rather different process than investing on your own as an individual. An introducing broker and custodian shepherded us through our transactions. We didn’t have to deal with the nitty-gritty of establishing a working relationship with a local Zimbabwean stockbroker.

So I compiled a list of stockbrokers who trade on the market. (This took a bit of digging because the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange’s website has been down for maintenance for weeks.)

I then emailed each broker. I asked them if they catered to foreign investors and, if so, how much they required in order to open an account. Of the dozen or so brokers that I contacted, I found the following four brokers to be especially helpful and responsive.

• EFE Securities ($1,000 minimum to open account) Founded in 2003, EFE Securities publishes daily market commentary and occasional company research reports on its website, both of which are available to registered users. Registration is free.

• IH Securities ($2,000 minimum to open account) Headed by a former director of Renaissance Capital’s Zimbabwe operation, IH Securities offers free company research, daily market reports, and an excellent Equities Trading Handbook on its website.

• Lynton-Edwards Stockbrokers ($1,000 minimum to open account) One of Zimbabwe’s larger stockbrokers, Lynton-Edwards’ slick website provides stock charts and company results for a selection of firms.

• MMC Capital ($10,000 minimum to open account) A relative newcomer, MMC Capital was founded in 2008. Executive Director Itai Chirume is a Chartered Financial Analyst. You can join MMC’s research mailing list via their website.

The process of opening an individual trading account and buying and selling shares is essentially the same for all Zimbabwean brokers. In fact, they even charge the same commissions and fees. They differ only in their minimum funding requirements and the quality of customer service and research they provide.

Trading Costs

Heres how much it will cost you to buy and sell stock on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange: