Chronicle Editor
Harare Bureau
A BUSINESS delegation from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) comprising seven buyers and more than 15 companies is expected to exhibit at Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) scheduled to run from 21 to 24 September.
The country’s trade development and promotion agency, ZimTrade, is already seized with co-ordinating the business forum with the DRC delegation, which will be held on the sidelines of ZITF.
The hosting of the forum is a follow-up programme to the outward seller mission that was held in Lubumbashi earlier this year.
“We have since identified potential buyers from Lubumbashi and we are expecting that they will meet local suppliers on the sidelines of ZITF, making it easy for exporters to penetrate the market,” ZimTrade chief executive officer, Mr Allan Majuru, said.
“To create business linkages and establish trade, we are organising an outward seller mission to Lubumbashi where local exporters will gain competitive knowledge and insights into the market.”
Meanwhile, ZimTrade has increased activities to promote local products in regional markets ahead of the continent-wide trade fair scheduled for Durban from 15-21 November this year.
The second edition of the Intra-Africa Trade Fair (IATF), which is now being hosted by South Africa, provides a marketplace for business linkages among buyers and sellers in Africa.
The trade agency is leading the development of the Zimbabwe Pavilion at the high-profile event with more than 30 local companies showcasing their products and services at the event.
Ahead of the event, ZimTrade is increasing trade promotion programmes to strengthen linkages between Zimbabwean exporters and buyers from regional markets.
Part of the planned export promotion activities include outward and inward missions, trade exhibition, and business conferences.
It is in this context that among the planned activities, Zimtrade would start with an outward seller mission to Kinshasa, which will be held back-to-back with a business forum to be held on the sidelines of ZITF next month.
Together with partners, Zimtrade is also organising the Zimbabwe/ Rwanda Trade and Investment Conference scheduled for 27-30 September in Kigali.
The event is expected to help strengthen bilateral trade and investment relations between Zimbabwe and Rwanda ahead of the Intra Africa Trade Fair later in the year.
“The conference will explore opportunities to further economic co-operation between our two countries and unpack all the available trade and investment,” said Mr Majuru.
“The conference will also provide a platform for local businesses to identify and build partnerships.”
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