Tinaye Agere
Prosper Ndlovu in WINDHOEK, Namibia
A TOTAL of 15 Zimbabwean businesses are showcasing their goods and services at the ongoing Windhoek Agricultural and Livestock Fair in Namibia as the country intensifies efforts to widen export markets and increase foreign currency earnings for the economy.
ZimTrade has facilitated the participation of local businesses, including established entities and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) drawn from different sectors and productive clusters.
These include Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), leather and leather products, agriculture services, building and construction, outdoor services, oil products, chemicals and industrial suppliers.
The participating businesses are Kefalos, Matabeleland North Handicrafts, Moreda Leather, Comrades Beverages trading as Matobo African Gin, Unique Innovation trading as Temp Bag, Jadesave Investments and Afrostain.
Others are AgriRocket Engineers, Rukanda Pride, Malcom Paints, Viridi Solutions, Good Hope Leather, Millennium Footwear, Samuneti Leather and Nyanyadzi Honey Cluster.
Of the participating businesses, nine are women and youth-led SMEs operations who were supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a majority of whom are first-time participants.
Zimbabwe and Namibia have solid trade relations supported by bilateral agreements and both are members of the SADC and COMESA treaties that seek to promote regional economic cooperation.
Zimbabwe has been growing its exports to Namibia in the last 10 years from about US$9 million worth of exports to U$21 million in 2023, showing positive growth with a peak of US$26 million in 2026.
The major exports to Namibia are pharmaceutical products, artworks, and electricity. There is a huge opportunity in key product areas such as honey and agricultural services aligned to the beef value chain, FMCGs and mining consumables.
“The opportunities for Zimbabwe here are immense, especially on the FMCGs, leather and leather products, and agricultural services where we have a comparative advantage,” ZimTrade export promotion officer, Mr Alex Mutandi, said.
“However, the key issues we need to address as a country are quality and competitiveness in pricing as our major competitor is South Africa.”
Growing exports into Windhoek is critical for Zimbabwe in easing the trade deficit as Namibia retains the upper hand with exports worth about US$44 million in 2023 comprising mainly fish, meat products and petroleum oils, according to Trade Map.
Online Reporter