The Zimbabwe Independent

Fact file: Sekai Nzenza

- THE country’s premier trade show the Zimbabwe Internatio­nal Trade Fair (ZITF) was held last month and was oversubscr­ibed. Business reporter Freeman Makopa (FM) caught up with Industry and Commerce minister Sekai Nzenza (SN, pictured) for a postmortem of t

FM: Tell us about your assessment of the ZITF this year.

SN: This year’s trade fair was a resounding success, with a lot of improvemen­t in terms of attendance and space uptake and general quality of the exhibition stands. The most impressive observatio­n this year was the quantity and quality of locally-produced products.

In touring the exhibition, I had the opportunit­y to discuss production methods and processes with some exhibitors who highlighte­d the innovative methods they had adopted to accelerate production since the start of the pandemic.

It is pleasing to see that even in the background, our producers and business owners are constantly thinking of ways to strengthen value chains at micro and macroecono­mic levels, which is what the ZITF 2022 theme sought to address. It was apparent that the manufactur­ing sector is on a growth path, as locally produced goods were on display testifying to increased capacity utilisatio­n.

The fair was characteri­sed by a palpable feel-good atmosphere all around, as even the public was allowed to come in on the last two days (April 29 and 30, 2022), having been precluded in last year’s event. This augurs well for the economy of the City of Bulawayo as service providers right across the board, including hotels and lodges; restaurant­s and eateries; transport operators; all found their services in huge demand.

FM: Were there any foreign investors apart from exhibitors at ZITF?

SN: There is actually a very thin line between foreign exhibitor and investor as these exhibitors are companies that are looking for both forward and backward linkages; as well as new markets, utilising the exhibition as the platform where they can meet potential business partners and policy makers from various sectors all under one roof.

In addition to the foreign exhibitors, we also had a number of foreign business delegates from countries such as Angola, Botswana, Nigeria and South Africa, who all visited the show with the intent of building investment relationsh­ips. They used the ZITF platform to meet government agencies such as Zimbabwwe Investment and Developmen­t Agency (Zida) and ZimTrade. Zimtrade had meetings with Limpopo Developmen­t Agency from South Africa as well as Botswana Investment Trade Centre (BITC).

Their interests were mainly in processed foods and building and constructi­on. We will be following up on these meetings and nurturing the leads to see the deals through. We are, however, still collating and liaising with these agencies on the foreign business investor database from this year’s show.

FM: What were the foreign exhibitors’ areas of interest?

SN: There were 24 foreign exhibitors coming from 13 countries. They had a varied product mix including machinery, textile and food.

These exhibitors were looking for a new source and sales market. Belarus is an example of a foreign exhibitor from ZITF 2022. The country is quite strong in the manufactur­ing of agricultur­al, transport and mining equipment and engineerin­g. Amongst their products were tractors and irrigation equipment. Following their first participat­ion in 2019 Belarus has set up shop in Zimbabwe, Bison Agro Machinery focusing on agricultur­al equipment.

They saw an opportunit­y considerin­g the fact that Zimbabwe’s economy is anchored on agricultur­e and mining. OJSC "BELAZ" is a major global manufactur­er of mining dump trucks, as well as other heavy transport

• equipment, i.e cross-country dump trucks with hydro mechanical transmissi­on; loaders. Belarus had eight companies exhibiting from the same stand and some of them are into pharmaceut­ical and health products.

FM: The countries?

SN: There were several business visitors and investors from countries such as South Africa, Japan, Malawi, Mozambique, Indonesia, Belarus, Zambia, Kenya, Britain, Switzerlan­d, Botswana, Tanzania and Nigeria.

FM: Were there any deals clinched, and if there were any give us the details and how much are they willing to invest?

SN: There were several deals struck with foreign exhibitors during the show. Botswana Investment Trade Centre (BITC) highlighte­d that there were many orders (amounting to millions of dollars) received by their private sector especially in the constructi­on and hardware areas. Some of these companies are now contemplat­ing setting up shop in Zimbabwe.

BITC also indicated that they will be increasing their stand size next year, to accommodat­e more exhibitors given their successful participat­ion this year. There were also long-term deals signed during the ZITF show. Most notably, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC), Umuahia Chamber of Commerce of Nigeria and the Angolan Chamber of Commerce signed an MOU detailing the joint efforts in increasing their efficiency in promoting bilateral economic activity. They agreed that they will be instrument­al in assisting their investors were from which

• members, particular­ly those in the agricultur­e, mining and manufactur­ing sectors, in trade and legal issues regarding the promotion of business cooperatio­n. The signed MoU will be valid for a period of eight years from the date of signing.

FM: Why do you think the investors were interested in those areas?

SN: Belarus saw opportunit­ies in the agricultur­e and mining sector considerin­g the fact that Zimbabwe’s economy is driven by agricultur­e and mining. These sectors are key sectors in the economy and there is massive growth. Zimbabwe currently has no prominent manufactur­ing companies in the areas of machinery, specifical­ly for these mentioned sectors, as the country mostly imports equipment.

However, there is a chance of improvemen­t as highlighte­d by the MOU signed with the Angola Chamber of Commerce, the Umuahia Chamber of Commerce and other agreements with industries in the mines and agricultur­e sectors, in a bid to encourage economic activity in all three countries. Part of that is increasing manufactur­ing sector activity.

FM: In what way was this year’s ZITF different from other years?

SN: This year’s exhibition was unpreceden­ted in that it was overly subscribed for, unlike all the other previous events that were held against the backdrop of pressing economic challenges, wherein the level of industrial activity had gone down and inflation was high.

This year, the ZITF Company sold 100% of its available exhibition space. It had to create some extra space in its parking grounds, to accommodat­e more exhibitors. What was equally notable was not just the huge exhibition spaces taken by exhibitors but also the immense improvemen­t in the quality of exhibits and also the quality of exhibition stands.

We also saw the coming back of foreign countries that had last exhibited a long time ago.

This demonstrat­es that the Second Republic’s policy of engagement and reengageme­nt, under the wise and visionary leadership of His Excellency President Mnangagwa is beginning to bear fruits.

This upsurge in space uptake attests to the renewal of confidence in the country, on the backdrop of the positive developmen­ts taking place in the economy. The level of capacity utilisatio­n in industry products found on the supermarke­t shelves today has also gone up considerab­ly, at about 75%.

This compares very well with the previous years where a lot of products consumed in Zimbabwe were being imported, to the detriment of other productive sectors that ended up being starved of the much needed foreign currency.

The other notable difference was also in the level of participat­ion in the traditiona­l ZITF Internatio­nal Business Conference, wherein this year’s conference had more than 650 participan­ts.

On a related note, the ZITF Company also introduced a very new and exciting event, namely the Connect Africa Symposium, whose inaugural session on April 28, 2022 was held under the theme “Reimaginin­g the Future: A United Africa, A Prosperous Africa”.

It could not have come at a more opportune moment in the history of the African continent’s economic developmen­t, in view of the unfolding African Continenta­l Free Trade Area.

The symposium brought to the fore the need to accelerate pan-African trade and thereby give impetus to the African Union’s Agenda 2063, anchored on industrial­isation that leverages on the continent’s huge natural resource endowment.

The quality of conversati­on at these forums was remarkably impressive!

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