All set for Buy Zimbabwe conference

expected to participate at the inaugural Buy Zimbabwe conference and exhibition set for March 30 in the capital.
The event is structured as a promotional platform for Zimbabwean products as well as the growth of the local economy. The conference and exhibition will run under the theme ‘Going Beyond Words’.
According to the organisers, the event will bring together players in the policy, production and marketing sectors whereby they will get a chance to share and discuss the real issues that are affecting the production and consumption of local goods and services in the face of growing competition from imports.
Buy Zimbabwe conference organiser Mr Robert Muganda said the platform would result in a shift towards practical implementation of solutions for the economy.
“The conference is a platform to shift towards practical implementation of solutions that can help create value to local companies that have struggled to meet consumer demands due to a challenging operating environment.”
Mr Muganda said the conference is also an opportunity to identify solutions that go beyond mere protectionism of local markets to implementing home-grown solutions that create fair competition for local brands in line with various trade agreements that Zimbabwe is signatory to.
Key speakers lined up for the event include chairperson of Buy Zimbabwe, Mrs Grace Muradzikwa, TN Holdings group chief executive Mr Tawanda Nyambirai, Industrial Development Cooperation general manager Mr Mike Ndudzo, and Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Mr Joseph Kanyekanye.
The executive director of the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe Ms Rosemary Siyachitema, Marketing Association of Zimbabwe president Mr Godfrey Dube, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Mr Mike Bimha and the commissioner general of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority Mr Gershem Pasi will also speak.
The speakers are expected to tackle the issue of how local companies can harmonise their operations and take advantage of the local and regional legislative environment in a manner that increases their market share. Mr Muganda added that foreign products dominate about 65 percent of the local market and retailers argue that the rationale behind this is because local producers have low capacity to fill their shelves.
Consumers have also tended to shift allegiance to foreign products because of a perceived slump in the quality of local products therefore the conference will be an opportunity for key stakeholders to address the issues of availability, quality and pricing of home-grown goods and services.
Industrial capacity has dropped significantly in Zimbabwe over the years with a majority of companies operating well below the 50 percent capacity mark. Companies have cut jobs, working hours and operate using obsolete machinery due to unavailability of funds to capacitate businesses.
Participation from players in the financial services is therefore expected to help unlock the financing and investment opportunities for the manufacturing sector and the possibilities of a local pool of funds to help capacitate local industries.
Producers will also get an opportunity to engage with policy makers in government to find lasting solutions to policy inconsistencies cited by a number of industrialists.