Online Reporter
Prosper Ndlovu in GABORONE, Botswana
ZIMBABWEAN youth innovator, Mr Garry Lawrence Ruwona, has designed a digital technology model that bridges Africa’s fragmented supply chains by connecting manufacturers and suppliers directly with informal traders, small to medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs), and buyers to ensure smooth trading.
Mr Ruwona (33) is among 20 Zimbabwean businesses participating in the ongoing Global Expo Botswana 2025 in Gaborone.
Through his web-based “Kulies.com”, a pan-African business-to-business omni-channel market platform, Mr Ruwona is convinced that digitising procurement and trade across multiple sectors, starting in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana, holds the key to driving
robust regional economic integration.
He told Zimpapers here that his digital model innovation has been inspired by the need to grow African trade through tackling inherent challenges linked to payments, logistics and border control hurdles, which are a nightmare for many traders.
Mr Ruwona says the attainment of “Africa’s 2063 Agenda: the Africa we want” demands accelerating intra-regional trade, and has emphasised the need to especially unlock the potential of informal producers and traders who are the majority economic players.
Through aggregating the supply chain players, the youth innovator says his model caters to specific segment needs as opposed to a “one size fits all” approach.
