Online Reporter
Judith Phiri
Zimpapers Business Hub
NATIONAL trade promotion and development body, ZimTrade, is scaling up technical support for producers in southern Zimbabwe to strengthen the development of heritage-based products for export markets.
The interventions — covering handicrafts, honey, fashion, and heritage fruit-based beverages — reflect a practical and targeted approach to addressing key constraints to the competitiveness of locally produced heritage products in regional and international markets.
ZimTrade stated in its latest newsletter that while Zimbabwe possesses a rich base of indigenous resources, traditional knowledge systems, and cultural production, translating these into commercially viable export products requires sustained support in areas such as product development, design, processing, quality assurance, and packaging.
“It is against this background that ZimTrade has already intensified capacity-building interventions in the Southern Region in the first quarter, working with international technical partners to improve production standards and positioning more producers for participation in export markets.
“One of the recent interventions was the Design, Colour, and Trend Workshop for the handicrafts sector, which was held from March 16 to 27, in partnership with PUM Netherlands senior experts in Bulawayo. The workshop brought together participants from the Matabeleland North handicrafts cluster, Bulawayo Home Industries, and other players in the crafts sector,” the newsletter read.
The training focused on strengthening the ability of producers to interpret international design trends, apply appropriate colour palettes, and refine products in line with changing buyer preferences.
ZimTrade also sought to support producers in using traditional craft skills and heritage-based materials to develop modern, trendy, and commercially relevant products that are in demand in export markets.
“This is critical in ensuring that Zimbabwe’s handicrafts retain their cultural authenticity while responding to contemporary consumer tastes and evolving market requirements. This intervention is important in a market where handicrafts are increasingly assessed on design relevance, finish and adaptability to modern consumer tastes.”
Statistics show exports of creative goods reached US$713 billion in 2022, highlighting the scale of opportunity in global markets for products that combine cultural value with strong design appeal. For Zimbabwean producers, this reinforces the importance of ensuring that heritage products are developed in a manner that responds to current market expectations while retaining their distinctive identity.
“In the apiculture value chain, ZimTrade continues to support producers through the ZimBEE workshops, which are helping to strengthen technical capacity in the honey sector, particularly for bee-keepers in Nkayi and Lupane.
“The workshops are part of broader efforts to improve production systems, quality management, and market readiness among bee-keepers and honey processors.”
This support is vital in building a more structured and competitive honey industry, particularly as producers seek to move beyond informal sales into more formal and higher-value markets. With stronger quality control, improved handling practices, and better product positioning, honey remains one of the heritage-linked products with potential for wider market penetration.
ZimTrade is also extending technical support to the fashion sector through an intervention facilitated by the Senior Expert Service (SES), aimed at supporting the development of high-quality fashion wear.
“The focus is on improving garment construction, finishing, product development and other technical aspects that influence competitiveness in premium and export-facing markets,” the newsletter continued.
“This is a significant area of intervention, particularly as Zimbabwean fashion continues to draw from indigenous aesthetics, fabrics, and cultural inspiration. However, access to more structured markets requires products that meet increasingly stringent buyer expectations in terms of quality, consistency, and presentation.”
SES support is expected to strengthen the capacity of local designers and manufacturers to produce fashion garments that are both culturally distinctive and commercially competitive.
Further technical support is scheduled for May, when PUM will undertake a specialised intervention for juice manufacturers working with heritage fruits such as baobab.
The intervention is designed to address specific technical challenges that continue to affect the commercialisation of these products, particularly sedimentation, colour change, fermentation, and limited shelf life.
These are critical issues for processors seeking to move heritage fruit beverages into formal retail and export channels, where product stability and shelf performance are essential. The intervention is expected to assist manufacturers in improving product stability and extending shelf life, thereby enhancing the overall marketability of heritage fruit beverages.
This comes at a time when global interest in baobab continues to grow. Industry reports have shown increasing demand for baobab in international markets, particularly within the health and wellness segment, where it is valued for its nutritional properties and use in functional food and beverage applications.
“For Zimbabwe, this presents an opportunity to deepen value addition around indigenous fruits and strengthen export participation through more technically sound processing,” added the country’s trade and export vehicle.
