WATCH: 533 exhibitors, 27pc growth at the ZITF

Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE much-awaited 63rd edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) is ready to kick off on Tuesday in Bulawayo, with exhibitors yesterday putting final touches on the stands.

This year’s trade showcase is set to be held from 25 to 29 April under the theme “Transformative Innovation, Global Competitiveness”. The ZITF is one of the largest intra-regional trade fairs South of the Sahara, an annual exhibition which offers exposure to both trade and public visitors, the multi-sectoral, multi-national expo provides a convenient trade hub for the region.

Its location in Bulawayo, the centre of Southern Africa, is at the crossroads of the regional trade and transportation routes. During ZITF the city witnesses a hive of activity as Government officials, diplomats, international buyers, nationwide exhibitors and captains of industry among others converge for the country’s premier showcase.

During a snap survey conducted by the Sunday News yesterday, most exhibitors were setting up while others were putting final touches to their exhibition stands ahead of the trade showcase that kicks off. In an interview, ZITF Company chief executive officer Dr Nicholas Ndebele said preparations were progressing well.

“They are at an advanced stage as you may observe that the exhibitors are already finishing up and putting final touches on their exhibition stands. There has been so much overwhelming interest for us and there is great excitement amongst our exhibitors. Some who did not participate last year have returned back this year. So we are excited once more to play host to the entire nation, the region as well as world at the home of exhibition the ZITF. We anticipate more exhibitors will be coming through from tomorrow (Sunday) up to Tuesday to set up and get ready for the show. In terms of exhibitors numbers, we are already at around 533 which is a 27 percent growth from last year which was 420.”

He said in terms of foreign participation, they had 21 countries who are bringing in about 25 exhibitors which was a significant growth from last year when they had 13 countries with 16 exhibitors. Dr Ndebele said this demonstrated the relevance of their platform (ZITF), while they were hoping to see more innovation coming through that speak to this year’s theme.

Foreign countries that will be represented this year include Angola, Belarus, China, Kenya, Japan, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Iran, South Africa, Tanzania, UK, USA and Zambia. Among them will also be Botswana, United Arab Emirates and the European Union pavilion (member states represented include France, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and Germany) among others.

Among exhibition stands that were putting final touches was the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ).

“We are quite pleased with the state of prepared at the NRZ stand and we are 90 percent complete in terms of our preparedness. We are ready to exhibit and to win as we always do,” said NRZ spokesperson Mr Andrew Kunambura.

He said from their stand the setup was a full package of exhibitions from all the departments and branches in NRZ. Mr Kunambura said they were also excited that RMS (Pvt) Ltd Company, a Road Haulage subsidiary of the NRZ was back and exhibiting at this year’s trade fair.

Around 600 exhibitors registered, compared to last year’s 471, as the Second Republic’s re-engagement and engagement policy continues to yield tremendous results in facilitating trade and investment. This has also seen more than 100 participants having registered as first-time exhibitors, including the European Union.