SMEs urged to forge partnerships

Sikhulekelani Moyo, Business Reporter

SMALL and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been urged to form partnerships to enhance their prospects of exhibiting at the annual Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).

The 63rd international trade fair, which is running from April 25 to 29 will be held under the theme “Transformative Innovation, Global Competitiveness.”

In the past, SMEs have said they are struggling to exhibit in numbers citing costs in booking exhibition space.

Bulawayo Chamber of SMEs programmes co-ordinator Mr Nketa Mangoye Dlamini told Business Chronicle that ZITF poses a great opportunity for SMEs to strike business deals which will lead to their growth.

He, therefore, said SMEs need to utilise the opportunity and find ways to exhibit regardless of them being small.

“I have realised from last year that some SMEs say the stands are expensive for them. So we advise our members from the SMEs sector to team up and share the costs of securing exhibition space, then at least we know that they have been exposed to customers and suppliers and they also get experience.

That experience to me increases their confidence in the market,” said Mr Dlamini.

SMEs have become a big economic force in the country and across the globe but most of them are still struggling to secure lucrative markets.

In Zimbabwe, the Government expects SMEs to play a pivotal role in transforming the economy towards an upper middle-income status by 2030.

This entails scaling up support for the sector by providing finance and working space to enable the sector to increase the production of quality goods and assist the sector to secure markets.

As of last week, over 30 SMEs had booked exhibition space and ZITF said they expect the number to keep growing.

ZITF is also striving to amplify support for SMEs to help them participate in numbers and grow their businesses.

This has seen the company calling upon SMEs to participate in events that will run concurrently with exhibitions, which will offer learning and networking opportunities with a wide local and international audience.

The events include the ZITF International Business Conference (26 April) and the Connect Africa Symposium (27 April). -@SikhulekelaniM1