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The private sector in Zimbabwe has to seize the opportunities so presented by Government in order to exploit opportunities both in investment and in trade, the National Business Council of Zimbabwe has said.
The indigenous empowerment lobby group, which focuses on wealth creation from the bottom of the pyramid, says Government bureaucrats also need to change mindset, embrace private capital and relate to the paradigm of opening the country for business.
“The Government and the private sector are expected to sing from the same hymn book as they unpack and formulate strategies of new policy pronouncements such as the ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’ policy thrust,” founding president of NBCZ, Dr Keith Guzah said in an interview.
“This policy thrust has capacity to turn around the economy of the country once it is properly understood and appropriately executed.
“There is need for a deliberate effort to guide or hand hold or lead the private sector in order not to lose on opportunities presented by the new Zimbabwe which is now open for business,” he said.
For its own part, NBCZ had readied its faculties to embrace the challenge presented by President Mnangagwa’s Government.
He said both the political and economic conditions were conducive.
“When government opens opportunities for business, be it FDI or trade opportunities, it remains incumbent upon the Zimbabwe business sector to exploit and engage with external business that seek to do business with Zimbabwe.
“It should be borne in mind that government does not do business with foreign investors or traders but rather government opens opportunities for its own people.
“The NBCZ is well placed to play the intermediary role of physically unpacking business deals and match making Zimbabwe businesses with those opportunities that the government would have clinched in their re-engagement efforts,” said Dr Guzah.
The NBCZ now has two distinct units; one that deals with unpacking of investment opportunities while the other arm deals with trade opportunities.
NBCZ complements other Business Member Organizations (BMOs) such as the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries whose thrust is focused more on production of goods and services.
Online Reporter