The Sunday Mail
SINCE its formation 25 years ago, the ZimTrade is one of the organisations that have never missed a single edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).
While other companies are struggling and failing to make it to such events, ZimTrade sees a platform for growth, networking, market integration and learning experience.
The fair has presented many business opportunities for the national trade facilitator and the companies it brings to the fair for exhibition.
On average, ZimTrade brings about seven emerging companies to the ZITF to market their products and services.
The fair also gives ZimTrade an opportunity to market brand Zimbabwe to the rest of the world, the products and services available, import or export opportunities and land possible partnership deals within the region.
Of the average 175 companies that ZimTrade has sponsored to exhibit over the years, many have grown into medium to large corporations.
For the trade development body, the ZITF is a “practical training ground” for local companies especially growing enterprises.
This is a place for companies to gauge the quality of their products and services compared to regional counterparts, come up with viable pricing models, innovativeness and measure their negotiating deals.
“This is an opportunity for companies to see what others are doing and learn from them so they can grow into viable businesses and contribute to the economy,” said ZimTrade chief executive Ms Sithembile Pilime at the ZITF last week.
“The idea is also to attract buyers, foreign companies are also looking for investment opportunities with Zimbabwean companies and if they should further want to pursue this, they can do so with the individual company.
“This has been a very useful platform for us to showcase what Zimbabwe can offer and create export opportunities,” she said.
Following a decade of economic challenges which saw big companies downsizing operations, Zimbabwe experienced a boom in the SME sector and Government is encouraging entrepreneurship which is also in line with the economic blue print Zim Asset whose objectives among others is employment creation.
The SME sector is now the country’s biggest employer accounting for an estimated 60 percent of the country’s workforce and contributing about 50 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the 2016 National Budget.
Resultantly, Government has also emphasised its support to the sector paying more attention to perennial challenges such as financing, infrastructure, technology, marketing, management and entrepreneurial skills. In line with this, ZimTrade has trained over 300 companies mainly SMEs.
“As a national trade development organisation, our presence at a platform like ZITF shows we support for national economic programmes and want to promote local companies.
“We want them to grow into viable entities whose products can compete on the regional and global markets,” said Mrs Pilime.
Speaking at the international business conference which ran concurrently with the ZITF, Small to Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni implored on both public and private sectors to continue supporting the growth of the SME growth through their formalisation. An estimated 25 percent of the SMEs are formalised while the rest are not despite being active, a situation Minister Nyoni said needed to be addressed with assistance of larger corporations. That way, they would contribute more to the economy, participate at national events and Government tenders.
“SMEs world over are the foundation for economic growth, they are the base for any nation that is serious about empowering its people,” she said.
Support for the sector will enable it to unleash the creativeness and entrepreneurial skills in them which is in line with this year’s ZITF theme.
The ZITF ran under the theme “Innovate, Integrate and Industrialise,” which is in synch with the country’s goals innovatively resuscitating the economy through increased industrial production, regional integration, value addition and beneficiation.
This year’s ZITF was officially opened last Friday by Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe and ended last night.
