Online Reporter
Dr Michael Musanzikwa
Zimbabwe’s assumption of the chairpersonship of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and hosting of the Summit of Heads of State and Government on October 22 marks a great opportunity for organisations — be they small, medium or big — to interact with one of Africa’s largest trading blocs.
From a marketing point of view, lots of business opportunities are waiting to be tapped. COMESA provides a transformative opportunity to access a market of over 640 million consumers across Africa.
More than US$383 billion of imports and exports are traded within the bloc. In essence, local businesses are set to gain access to a regional market worth about US$1 trillion, opening fresh opportunities for exports, investments and strategic partnerships.
Furthermore, the COMESA Business Forum is expected to provide direct access to regional buyers, investors, financiers and policymakers from across a bloc of more than 640 million consumers, creating a platform to secure markets, attract capital and integrate into regional value chains.
So, there is an opportunity to boost export capacity and attract foreign investment.
However, to realise the envisaged gains, there is need for local firms to drive local production and value addition.
Serious efforts need to be made to enhance the competitiveness of Zimbabwean goods and improve efficiencies in production.
Hosting the business forum must, therefore, prompt local firms to prime themselves for growth and survival in this vast market.
They will have to compete with other firms from the region that can equally provide quality raw materials, parts and technological expertise. So, local firms would have to boost their capacity to be competitive.
It is also paramount for organisations to utilise their supply chain strategic function to capitalise on the availability of the wider supplier base in the bloc by applying the following techniques:
To be clear on the future direction of the organisation in terms of strategic objectives to be achieved
The need for financial support to meet contractual obligations when supply chain is being engaged through procurement or logistics
To have clear and well-defined specifications for their requirements
Due diligence and supply market intelligence by scanning for the most appropriate suppliers in the bloc
Consider the involvement of strategic supplier partnerships with the business community in the trading bloc because suppliers are part of the production process and it is imperative to consider them as critical partners in business for local capacity
Since the contribution of Zimbabwean products to Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is still low, this can only be improved through exporting value-added products to guarantee more returns.
This can be made possible by making the supply chain function an integral part of the business ecosystem to facilitate the provision of the much-needed quality raw materials, parts, equipment and technological expertise.
The cycle is incomplete without the logistics to take the products to the continental market.
Consequently, Zimbabwean firms can use this great opportunity of being exposed to one the largest trading blocs in Africa to find new sources of the supply market.
This will definitely have a multiplier effect on local production capacity through increased economies of scale and output of quality branded and packaged products, which will lead to more market share on the continental bloc.
This would ultimately lead to a virtuous circle of more local production, more exports, widening surplus on balance of payments and more jobs at home.
For local firms, however, it starts with being very clear and deliberate about defining the future based on a constant supply and availability of raw materials, parts and equipment to facilitate efficient production.
This means organisations must strategically take advantage of the COMESA summit that will be hosted in Zimbabwe this month.
It is imperative to make Zimbabwean products competitive on the regional market and beyond.
And local companies can achieve this when they take on board the supply chain function by strategically identifying the source of production needs in the next 15 -25 years and beyond.
Why supply chain is critical for local firms
Supply chain is like nature; it is all around us.
There is need for good connection between marketing and supply chain to solve problems that cross our national and institutional boundary.
Zimbabwe has considerable resources, growing markets, human capital, entrepreneurial energy and technological capability.
It must, therefore, become better at connecting, transforming and employing these capabilities through effective supply chains.
The primary goal of the Government is to industrialise, enhance transformation and strengthen Zimbabwe’s economic foundation through local capacity and beneficiation — and supply chain is a critical enabler.
Hosting COMESA enables local firms to meet the continental suppliers during the summit period.
There is need to be cognisant of how procurement as a component of the supply chain can be regulated to protect integrity and public value while creating pathways for local firms to enter markets, build capability and scale.
This is because external sourcing of goods and services, especially by public sector organisations, has implications for the country’s external financial obligations, which may contribute to the accumulation of external debt.
The existing legal framework provides for respect of obligations arising from international agreements.
While such a framework is intended to honour commitments to external suppliers and development partners, it may also create conditions which encourage external sourcing that may not align with the national interest of achieving value for money in public procurement.
Accordingly, provisions of international agreements should be negotiated in a manner that aligns procurement arrangements with Zimbabwe’s public procurement legislation.
For example, when negotiating international agreements that may result in direct procurement transactions, it is essential that Zimbabwean negotiators fully understand the interaction between domestic procurement legislation and treaty obligations.
This approach ensures value for money and adherence to the principles of transparency, fairness, cost-effectiveness and competitiveness as outlined in Section 4 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act and Section 315 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Overall, the COMESA Business Forum is expected to provide direct access to regional buyers, investors, financiers and policymakers from across the bloc.
Dr Michael Musanzikwa is the chief director (procurement and disposal of public assets) in the Office of the President and Cabinet.
