Chronicle Editor
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
BEITBRIDGE’s premier annual business expo rolled into action at Dulivhadzimu Stadium on Thursday morning.
The event was initially set to run between 4 and 6 July before the dates were moved to 11 and 13 July to pave the way for the Matabeleland South provincial hybrid diaspora investment conference that was held in the border town during the period.
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC)’s, Matabeleland vice president, Mrs Beauty Bhulu will officially open the expo on Saturday where the best exhibitors will be awarded.
Beitbridge Business Expo chairperson Dr Anna Muleya said there was an increase in new exhibitors this year and they had decided to stick to the theme “Beitbridge 24-seven” since they are yet to achieve their major goal of making Beitbridge a 24-hour service town.
Dr Muleya said most services are still up to working hours and encouraged more businesses to start providing services on a 24-hour basis.
“Everything is in order and we are expecting a full house. So far we have 80 exhibitors and most of them set up their stands on Wednesday and have registered to showcase their services at the expo including four institutions of higher learning,” she said.
“We are encouraging the youths to take advantage and visit the institutions and enrol or explore options for various professional courses.
“It is important for potential exhibitors to note that we have room for only 107 stands and those that are going to delay coming will miss out. They need to come through and book for stands.”
She said they had a number of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that have registered and four companies from South Africa which have also arrived for the expo.
Among the exhibitors are the police and many Government Departments and agencies.
Dr Muleya said people must attend in their numbers and explore services around their town and district.
She added that it has become part of the Beitbridge culture to have a business expo every July.
“The expo is going to be held at Dulivhadzimu Stadium for the last time and next year we intend to have it at our new showgrounds,” she said.
“We expect civil works to be completed in the not-so-distant future at the site. Soon after the 2024 expo we will start putting up a structure for 2025.”
She said games for children and educational programmes for adults and youngsters had been lined up during the expo.
For children, there will be horse riding, quad bikes, golf carts, a jumping castle and a circus clown, dancers and musical bands.
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