Membership drive in top gear

, said that South Africans have very little interest in promoting foreign economies except their own and that it is only us Zimbabweans that can drive the local economy towards success.
Exactly a week after the conference and exhibition, Buy Zimbabwe has been inundated with emails and calls from retailers, detergent manufacturers, players in the paper industry and the furniture industry, to name but a few, making inquiries on Buy Zimbabwe membership.
This clearly is a sign that there is a positive response to Ms Johnston’s statement.
Mr Kenias Mafukidze, the architect of the CEOs’ roundtable, will also be happy to know that Zimbabweans are beginning to show that there are some real actors out there who have grown tired of sitting aimlessly in the commentary box.
Already signs of Zimbabweans “going beyond words” are manifesting. Buy Zimbabwe membership goes beyond simply nationalistic sentiments that align one to their own, but rather has more long-term benefits.
For the purposes of clarity, I repeat some of the benefits of membership which I included in last week’s piece which include:
National Retail audits, econometric surveys lobby and policy support benchmark studies, free listing on the Buy Zimbabwe website, free quarterly magazine, discounts in Buy Zimbabwe events, discounted advertising in Buy Zimbabwe publications
Discounts on cross-promotions and promotion of the Buy Zimbabwe certification process through the Standards Association of Zimbabwe.
The Buy Zimbabwe Campaign has begun the membership drive on a very positive note thanks to the common vision that was established among Zimbabweans at the conference.
The opening remarks by the Buy Zimbabwe Campaign chairperson, Mrs Grace Muradzikwa, at the conference clearly emphasised that membership was designed to suit the needs of our diverse economic players.
As a reflection of the diversity that exists in our growing economy, membership is multi-sectoral and is open to all companies, whether large or small.
It would be suicidal for a campaign of this nature to be elitist in its membership.
Buy Zimbabwe realises the importance of the SMEs in boosting growth in the country since much of the production is happening within the sector.
Taking the example of our neighbours in South Africa, the Proudly South African Campaign boasts large corporations such as Old Mutual, Pick-n-Pay and South African Airways among other big name companies. It has, however, failed to consolidate its membership within the smaller players in industry.
It comes as no surprise then that Proudly South African in 2010 found itself competing for government funding with the Black Economic Empowerment agenda simply because its membership structure is somewhat elitist.
Membership is one of the highest priorities of Buy Zimbabwe. The sustainability of the Buy Zimbabwe Campaign is strongly based on this unity of purpose among stakeholders.
It is also critical to have a membership that beneficiates the local industry. Buy Zimbabwe membership is a value addition programme aimed at achieving increased competitiveness and greater product and corporate visibility for the local, regional and international markets.
The importance of bringing together stakeholders under the Buy Zimbabwe membership structure is that it will also help revise and refine the campaign to provide demonstrable value additions to all participants.
The primary focus of the campaign is to advocate for necessary change in the production and consumption of local goods and services and also to promote a sense of pride in Zimbabwean products and services.
The momentum, which ensures that the Zimbabwean brands take centre stage both locally and internationally, has been set.
l For comments, contributions and membership enquiries, please contact Buy Zimbabwe Campaign at:
22 Broadlands Road
Mount Pleasant
Harare
Tel: 04-333045, 0772 714 233
Email: [email protected]