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ESAJA Continental Services, a local technology startup company, will on Thursday next week launch its on-line Zimbabwe country channel in a bid to enhance market place interaction for businesses.Founder Mr Clinton Mambo said in an interview that the country channel will be launched in Harare next week with support from the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, Zimtrade, and Swift Transport.
The startup operates Esaja.com as a business to business marketplace to promote cross-border trade.
Mr Mambo said while intra-African trade has been emphasised as a critical area for meaningful development to occur in Africa, it has remained low.
Only 12 percent of trade on the continent is conducted within. The conundrum most African nations are faced with is that offshore markets constitute a greater percentage of trade volumes than regional ones. Intra-European trade is estimated at 65 percent and this provides a measure of how far Africa should develop its internal trade.
African governments have appreciated the need for regional integration from the outset. Organisations such as the African Union, East African Community, Comesa, and Sadc among others were especially formed for this purpose. Esaja.com is an entrepreneurial endeavour aligned with these efforts.
“The biggest problem Africa faces in its quest for economic development is limited access to trade information. Esaja.com serves as an information exchange through which traders can slash the time and cost of discovering cross-border business opportunities.”
Esaja.com officially went live this year on Africa Day and has been developing its footprint across the region.
The Zimbabwe country channel will be the first to be activated with other markets set to follow thereafter.
It is essentially a dedicated section on the platform that contains accurate information about the Zimbabwean economy to business people across Africa.
Information such as core currencies, commercial hubs, business customs and trade statistics is aggregated by the country channel, including on sectoral basis.
Mr Mambo commended Zimtrade and ZNCC for supporting the initiative in their role as trade promotion organisations, stating that the onus was on Africans to rise to the challenges the continent faces.
The country channel launch event is happening with the backing of Swift Transport, one of the biggest freight and courier services company in Zimbabwe.
In 2012 Esaja.com was recognised as a finalist in the Apps For Africa Business Challenge due to its potential to boost trade for African small enterprises.
Online Reporter