Online Reporter
Herald Reporter
Zimbabwe is ramping up efforts to grow exports by leveraging locally available heritage-based products, with the country’s trade promotion agency ZimTrade targeting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as a key driver of an expanded export base.
In an interview on the margins of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo, ZimTrade board chairperson Dr Kupukile Mlambo said the country’s competitive advantage lies in harnessing indigenous resources and traditional knowledge to produce high-value export goods and services.
“For us, our competitive advantage comes from focusing on our heritage,” said Dr Mlambo.
“For instance, it is easier for us to grow baobab — mawuyu. You don’t need to water it or put in chemicals, but at the end of the day, you get an organic product. So which country is in the best position to produce baobab oil and powder for export? It is us in Zimbabwe.”
He said the agency is also working to widen Zimbabwe’s export base by nurturing new exporters, while continuing to support established companies that currently account for the bulk of export earnings.
“While we are grateful to the big companies that export about 80 percent of our products, we also need to generate new exporters through SMEs, who we envision becoming the big companies of tomorrow,” he said.
He said ZimTrade’s strategy is aligned with Vision 2030, which seeks to build an industrialised, export-led economy, with greater emphasis now being placed on services exports alongside goods.
“We are doing well on the goods side, but we need to put more focus on services because they are a key component when it comes to exporting,” said Dr Mlambo.
He said Zimbabwe must begin to shift towards exporting intellectual property and formulations derived from its natural resources.
“We need to move to a process where we export formulas. If you drink Coca-Cola, they don’t bring bottles, they bring a formula,” he said.
“So, we must focus on what we have an advantage in — baobab, marula, moringa — and develop formulas for food, health and pharmaceutical products.”
Dr Mlambo said Zimbabwe is targeting annual export growth of 10 percent for goods and 15 percent for services to meet its 2030 targets.
To improve competitiveness, ZimTrade has rolled out several programmes targeting SMEs, particularly youth- and women-led enterprises.
These include the Eagles Nest initiative for young entrepreneurs and the Next She Exporter programme for women.
The agency has also partnered with the International Trade Centre to launch the SheTrades Hub, aimed at linking women-led businesses to international markets and helping them meet global certification standards.
“For the first time, we have managed to get five women-led enterprises certified in markets where it is normally difficult to achieve certification,” said Dr Mlambo.
He added that ZimTrade is working with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) and the Zimbabwe Intellectual Property Office (ZIPO) to protect indigenous knowledge and products from being patented externally.
Dr Mlambo said Zimbabwe recorded a strong export performance under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), surpassing its target with export earnings reaching about US$10 billion against a target of US$8 billion.
“The good thing is that our export basket is diversified, and our products are now found in markets such as Singapore and Vietnam — destinations we would not ordinarily have accessed,” he said.
