ZITF kicks off on a low note

foreign exhibitor at the fair with their stand taking up 700 square metres of the available space.
Last year, the South African stand measured 400 square metres.

“The fact that the South Africans have taken up more exhibition space this year and the big number of companies that have shown interest in trading with our local companies shows that trade between the two countries can only grow,” she said.

She said the Investment Summit that was being organised by the Ministry of Investment Promotion and Economic Planning, which is scheduled for today, was bound to bring about more opportunities for trade and investment between the two countries.

“There is a very prominent 30-member delegation of South Africans taking part in the summit which is very good for our local companies that are in need of investments,” Ms Ndlovu said.

She added that China had also taken up a large chunk of exhibition space.
“There is only one Chinese province taking part in this year’s fair and if we were to have more provinces taking part, they would have a solo exhibition,” Ms Ndlovu said.
She said the company was exploring the idea of solo exhibitions by the Chinese companies who are keen to trade and invest in the local industry.
Meanwhile, most exhibitors yesterday were still putting the final touches to their stands while attendance was still low.

“Although we would have wanted them to have been done by today, exhibitors worked throughout the night to prepare and some are still working on putting finishing touches to their stands,” said Ms Ndlovu. She said this year’s edition was better than last year as more exhibition space had been taken up and the number of countries taking part had grown from 14 last year to 17.

More than 49 000 square metres, which translates to 95 percent of available space, had already been sold. The ZITF Business Conference, which is set to be the major highlight of the fair, is being held today and Vice President Joice Mujuru will deliver the keynote address on “Zimbabwe on a new tidal wave of socio-economic transformation and sustainable development in the modern era”.