Online Reporter
Prosper Ndlovu in GABORONE, Botswana
BOTSWANA President Duma Boko conducted a brief tour of the Zimbabwe Pavilion this morning at the Global Expo Botswana 2025, where 20 Zimbabwean companies are exhibiting.
National trade promotion and development body, ZimTrade, client advisor, Ms Nozipho Maphala, on behalf of the Zimbabwean business delegation, gave a detailed highlight of the exhibiting companies’ profiles and the unique products and services from
Zimbabwe.
“We’ve got 20 companies that are in different spaces. We’ve got a company that’s in the value-addition of vegetables. We’ve also Sila Vegetables, which is into the training of women into producing mushrooms for their own sustenance and also for sale, and she’s
also looking at exporting into Botswana,” she said.
“We also have companies that are in the cosmetic space. Some of their manufacturing ingredients come from the process from the agricultural space.
“We have companies that are into the production of leather. They’ve got handbags, belts and other products in the leather space. We’ve got Dairibord, one of our leading companies in the dairy industry, that is here with a variety of products as well.”
The Zimbabwe Pavilion also houses companies that are in the technology space and are helping farmers farm better with drone technology, who have come to help farmers in Botswana to farm better using sustainable farming practices through drone technology
in agriculture.
“There are local companies that have developed platforms for us to trade more easily in Africa, and these are young companies driven by youths to drive higher trade between our countries in different sectors,” said Ms Maphala.
“So, this year we have come to try and seek new markets. There are some companies that have not begun exporting and they are looking to export first to Botswana because of the proximity of the market.
“We did a survey, as ZimTrade, back in 2018 and we determined the sectors that have good demand for our products back in Zimbabwe. Since that time, we’ve worked on sharpening and developing the skills of companies in those spaces and we’re now at a point
where we are saying they’re ready to export and they’re looking to then penetrate the Botswana market.”
Ms Maphala commended the stronger regional representation and participation at this year’s expo, saying this was significant for the expansion of business for Zimbabwean producers.
“Business is more than just in Botswana, but also in our other neighbouring countries.
“As we speak, developing and implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area [AfCFTA] is what we’re looking at, transacting business with our neighbours and growing demand for each other’s products and in turn also growing the skills and the knowledge
for improving our products, and like I said, improving the demand for these across the countries,” she said.
Peter Tanyanyiwa