Online Reporter
Wallace Ruzvidzo in New York, USA
ZIMTRADE, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency yesterday successfully pitched Zimbabwe as open for business at the highly subscribed Zimbabwe Business Forum, much to the excitement of US investors.
Held under the theme, “Global Challenges. Zimbabwean Solutions. Shared Prosperity,” the forum, which was headlined by President Mnangagwa, brought together a wide range of American investors interested in various sectors of the Zimbabwean economy.
ZTA chief executive officer Dr George Manyaya said Zimbabwe had a lot to offer and welcomed the positive response from US investors to the presentations.
“As you can see, Zimbabwe is open for business and the Americans are ready to invest and also to visit Zimbabwe.
“We were telling them today that Zimbabwe is not only a place that you visit, it is a place that you feel.
“You can see that America is one of our major source markets, and from our engagements it is clear that many are eager to visit and experience Zimbabwe.
“We have so much to offer the American market,” he said.
Dr Manyaya said they had lined up back-to-back meetings with investors, during which they would receive business proposals and expressions of interest.
“They are giving us their proposals on what they want, and we will be following up.
“Remember, we also have an attaché based here in America, and she is responsible for coordinating these engagements and linking them to Zimbabwe,” he said.
ZIDA chief executive officer Mr Tafadzwa Chinamo said potential investors had already made inquiries following the presentations, which he described as encouraging.
“For us, what we always do after such engagements is follow up.
“We have already received a few inquiries across many sectors.
“So we are encouraged and hope that in subsequent years this becomes an even bigger and better platform to showcase Zimbabwe and its opportunities, not only to America but to the world,” he said.
Mr Chinamo said the expressions of interest had also been amplified by the fact that investors were hearing Zimbabwe’s story directly from Zimbabweans rather than from third parties.
“I think with any business forum where we come to a country like this, it is also about telling potential investors in that country our story.
“Sometimes they hear the Zimbabwean story from other people, and it is not necessarily the story that we want told,” he said.
Mr Chinamo said the President’s attendance had also conveyed the message that Zimbabwe was ready to do business.
“The fact that the President was here is a major step.
“This year, I think we have done it jointly with ZTA, ZIDA and ZimTrade.
“It was good because it provided perspectives on visiting Zimbabwe, trading with Zimbabwe and investing in Zimbabwe.
“The attendance was most encouraging,” he said.
ZimTrade chief executive officer Mr Allan Majuru said Zimbabwe had turned the corner and was now more attractive to foreign investors than ever before.
“Yes, it was a success, and I think the narrative is changing.
“If you look at the past, attendance figures were relatively low, but today the turnout was overwhelming.
“More importantly, it was the story that the Americans had to tell about Zimbabwe,” he said.
Testimonials on Zimbabwe’s conducive business environment were given by Zambezi Fresh, a blueberry farming enterprise in Zimbabwe run by an American investor, and Zimworx, both of which spoke positively about operating in the country.
Mr Majuru said the testimonials had worked in Zimbabwe’s favour.
“Especially if you look at the trade side, horticulture is emerging as a key area in which investors want to invest and export, largely because of the favourable climate that we have.
“The good thing is that we also put in place a commitment wall, where we will track, in addition to our follow-ups, the commitments that were made and the outcomes arising from those commitments,” he said.
“For us, the next step is to facilitate B2B engagements and follow up on what we have agreed with prospective traders, visitors and investors.”
Looking ahead, Mr Majuru said they would next year take stock of what had been achieved from this year’s Zimbabwe Business Forum before identifying areas for improvement.
“We will assess what has been achieved, identify any challenges encountered and ensure that each year we improve the way we do business when we come here,” he said.
