‘Yes we can’

Buy Zimbabwe team including the board, staff and the Buy Zimbabwe partners in thanking all consumers who took part in the road shows and the promotion.
Specific mention goes to Fortunate Chihwayi of House Number 9116 Budiriro 5B, who walked away with the grand prize of a proudly Zimbabwean freezer courtesy of Capri.
Despite some challenges associated with the week, Buy Zimbabwe partners shone because of a desire to take out the message of quality, availability and affordability to their consumers. There is really a strong team effort in Buy Zimbabwe partners.

The week was Buy Zimbabwe’s first real encounter with the consumer since the launch in March this year. The theme for this year’s Buy Zimbabwe Week, “Buy Zimbabwe, Save A job” was well received by consumers who began to understand not only the central concept of the campaign.
It is key to encourage consumers to buy more local products and services so that we can create internal economic multiplier effects that will sustain our economy and ensure that we safeguard the jobs we have and create more opportunities for employment.

During the grand promotion I had the opportunity to share the launch of the Schweppes employee share ownership scheme with two gentlemen who were part of the crowd. I told them that Schweppes is an example of a company that represents exactly what Buy Zimbabwe stands for particularly with their strong employee focus. I told them that if consumers continued to support more local brands other companies would be able to follow the example of Schweppes and protect their employees’ welfare.

I realised during the week that consumers are very passionate about their jobs with a majority of them saying that they were willing to support local brands if it assured them of a future. But I would say consumers of local products are now more excited by the fact that their favourite brands are now found competing for shelf space with foreign alternatives.

The gesture by consumers of all walks of life during the week should be an eye opener even to the retailers and producers alike that consumers are now demanding more Zimbabwean made products because of their quality. I accept it will be a process but nonethe-less we have to do it.
The Buy Zimbabwe Week promotion was just a beginning. Our marketing executive, Gabriel Choga, hit the nail on the head when he was on radio when he said: “Iwe neni tine basa” (me and you have a role to play). I will add another dimension to say that he meant that if we all support our local brands we would all have jobs. It is true that you and I have jobs if we continue to buy Zimbabwean products even well beyond the promotion. I encourage consumers to start this Christmas.

If consumers look out for proudly Zimbabwean products from Buy Zimbabwe partners this festive season, they are guaranteed of quality products that are prized just right. A number of retailers will be offering bargains and I encourage consumers to shop around for the best deals so that they can get more for their money during this period.