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Mine Entra judges tour stands during the exhibition last week

Charity Ruzvidzo Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce has assisted about 20 companies to indirectly exhibit at this year’s Mining, Engineering and Transport (Mine Entra) expo, an official has said.ZNCC marketing officer Velile Dube said the chamber had marketed and advertised products for some of the companies that could not afford to directly exhibit.

“ZNCC’s presence at Mine Entra is in line with our mandate to promote business. We are advertising products and services on behalf of companies that did not manage to directly participate at the exhibition,” he said.

Some of the companies and entities ZNCC marketed include Zimplow, NewZim Steel, Zimpost, Instant Solutions, Clarion Insurance, Asphalt Products, Glen Lodge and Bulawayo City Council.

Dube said their presence at this year’s Mine Entra was aimed at lobbying mining houses to enter into business ventures with local industries to promote industrialisation in the city.

“Currently, mines are contributing at least 60 percent to Gross Domestic Product and thus we would like to encourage partnerships between mines and local companies.

“Mines should not import products whilst  the local companies in their vicinity have them.  Even if companies are not able to provide for mines they should at least provide what they have, importing should come as an aftermath,” he said.

Dube added that ZNCC would also approach banks to assist with funding on the business ventures.

He said a mining indaba that would set the tone for the partnerships would be held soon.

Since the adoption of a multicurrency system in February 2009, the mining sector has been the major economic mainstay of the country with 50 percent of Zimbabwe’s exports coming from exports.

This year’s Mine Entra, which was held under the theme, “Innovation, Beneficiation, Growth”, sought to create a platform through which players in the  mining industry and other stakeholders in sectors such as engineering and transport could devise strategies that would further promote and strengthen the growth of the economy in line with the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-economic Transformation.