Zimbabwe to leverage Sadc Industrialisation Week

ZIMBABWE is poised to leverage the Seventh Sadc Industrialisation Week (SIW), to declare its resurgence as a global provider of goods and services, transitioning from its current status as a net consumer, a Cabinet Minister has said.

The Government anticipates the participation of approximately 300 guests and 150 companies in the discussions at the SIW set to precede the Sadc Summit scheduled for August this year.

Scheduled to run from July 28 to August 2, 2024, under the theme; “Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustainable Economic Growth and Development towards an Industrialised Sadc,” the SIW events will include conferencing and exhibitions.

Several private sector players are expected to be part of the programme.

SIW is an annual public-private engagement platform designed to foster new opportunities for intra-African trade, develop cross-border value chains, and identify investment opportunities in the Sadc region.

It will precede the senior officials, Council of Ministers Meetings, and Sadc Summit, which will take place from August 9-18, at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden.

Speaking in Bulawayo yesterday Minister Ndlovu said the Government is giving top priority to the industrial week noting that Sadc economies seek to progressively move from factor-driven and investment-driven to a high growth trajectory driven by knowledge, innovation, and business sophistication.

According to the Africa Development Bank, Southern Africa’s GDP is projected to grow from an estimated 1,6 percent in 2023 to 2,2 percent in 2024, with a slight improvement to 2,6 percent in 2025.

“We are giving it our utmost priority because we realise that as Zimbabwe and Sadc, we have lost out on many opportunities, we have become a region that relies on imports from other areas. In my view, we need to announce that Zimbabwe is back in the world of nations in global supplies and we are not just consumers,” said the minister.

Minister Ndlovu said exhibition space is fast running out, noting that registration could be closed next week on Tuesday.

A portal has already been developed for participants to register online.

The programme, scheduled for 28 July to 2 August 2024 at the Harare International Conference Centre in Harare, will run under the theme: “Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustainable Economic Growth and Development towards an Industrialised Sadc.”

Minister Ndlovu said the main purpose of convening the SIW is to popularise the Sadc Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap (SISR 2015-2063) which aims to promote Sadc’s economy and deepen regional integration through structural transformation.

“During this period, Sadc economies seek to progressively move from factor-driven and investment-driven to a high growth trajectory driven by knowledge, innovation, and business sophistication. Let us leverage these opportunities to demonstrate Zimbabwe’s potential and to shape a future where innovation, technology, and inclusive growth are at the forefront of our national agenda.”

SIW, which aims to structurally transform the Sadc region through industrialisation, was conceived at the 2015 Sadc Summit of Heads of State and Government.

The event has been held six times, starting in 2016 in Eswatini, South Africa (2017), Namibia (2018), Tanzania (2019), Malawi (2021) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (2022) while Zimbabwe will host this year’s edition.