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Prosper Ndlovu and Nqobile Bhebhe, Business Reporters

THE Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) roars into life in Bulawayo today amid an upsurge in the number of participants, which has forced organisers to expand exhibition space to accommodate more businesses.

President Mnangagwa is expected to preside over the official opening ceremony this Friday after President Kenyatta, who was scheduled to lead the proceedings, could not make it following the death of former Kenyan leader, Mwai Kibaki.

The country’s prime trade and investment expo is being held under the theme, “Rethink, Reimagine, Reinvent Value Chains for Economic Development,” and a packed programme of conferences, sector specific fora and seminars has been lined up for the duration of the symposium.

A total of 14 countries being represented by 21 exhibitors are taking part.

Bulawayo will be a hive of activity this week and by yesterday delegates had started trooping into the city as others were putting final touches on their stands at the exhibition centre.

In a briefing with journalists on the state of preparedness yesterday, ZITF chairman Mr Busisa Moyo said everything was in place, pointing out that as organisers they were seized with expansion plans to cater for potential spill-over of exhibitors.

Already local hotels and lodges have said their facilities are fully booked due to the overwhelming number of visitors, with the extra numbers expected to be accommodated in private homes and public institutions with adequate infrastructure, according to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.

Business analysts say the jump in exhibition space subscription buttresses the positive business sentiment and growing momentum towards tapping into available trade and investment opportunities.

Mr Moyo said this also shows that business entities are eager to take part in building the country’s economy through utilising platforms such as the ZITF to grow their ventures and securing viable synergies.

“This year’s show has seen an upsurge in the uptake of the exhibition space, resulting in the setting up of supplementary exhibition space in one of the parking areas,” said Mr Moyo.

“In the short term, we will be managing the demand for exhibition space through temporary structures.”

 

As of yesterday, Mr Moyo said, 428 direct exhibitors had confirmed their participation, having taken up 44 760 square metres of exhibition space.

He said the figures compare favourably with the closing totals of both 2021 and 2019 exhibitions.

“However, in the long-term, expansion plans are afoot to enable us to accommodate everyone who wants to showcase in Zimbabwe’s premier shop window,” said Mr Moyo.

“Despite the shortage of hotel accommodation within the city, we are pleased to note that we currently don’t have participants who don’t have safe and comfortable lodging for the duration of the show.

“In this regard, we wish to acknowledge and appreciate the City of Bulawayo for once again displaying the warm hospitality, which we are known for.”

The high demand for accommodation stresses the need for more investment towards construction of high-capacity hospitality infrastructure. The Bulawayo City Council has in the past revealed that it had granted the ZITF Company the green light to build a 300-bed hotel, which will go a long way in reducing accommodation challenges in the city, particularly during the hosting of big events.

 

Bulawayo mayor Councillor Solomon Mguni said the theme of this year’s ZITF embodies the direction that Zimbabwe and the rest of the world are taking as countries slowly come out of the pandemic.

“It’s a reminder that innovation is an essential driver of economic progress and survival. The importance of technology and innovation has been noted as very key in the new normal and this has called on us to rethink, reimagine and reinvent how we manage our processes,” said Clr Mguni in his welcome message to visitors and exhibitors.

“Covid-19 has called on us to reboot and restart the production process. The pandemic has shown that without technology, it will be a challenge for our businesses and our operations to survive.” 

Clr Mguni said technology has presented new ways in which Zimbabwe can lead to higher productivity, and generate more output. 

“The value chains for economic growth are also encouraging us to have a disruptive growth strategy where we have to push for renewal, stabilisation and growth of our businesses.”

He said during the ZITF the Bulawayo City Council will profile its vision of a ‘smart city’ status anchored on the need to transform and reinvent the local authority as a smart city and also improve the operational efficiency in line with the Government’s vision of an empowered and prosperous upper middle-income society by 2030.

Meanwhile, Mr Moyo said strict adherence to Covid-19 mitigation protocols will be maintained to ensure public safety.

For the first time since the inception of Covid-19, the exhibition will once again host the general public including children on Friday and Saturday.

“The ZITF Company understands that while we seem to be over the worse of it, we are still in the midst of a global health pandemic, hence the need to host ZITF 2022 in a controlled and responsible manner,” said Mr Moyo.

“Building from the successes and lessons of last year’s show, preparations for ZITF 2022 have been built around strict Covid-19 health and safety protocols with guidance from the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Bulawayo City Council as experts and custodians of public health in the host city.”

Mr Moyo urged all stakeholders to embrace vaccination in order to increase the level of herd protection during the show and beyond.

“All exhibitors will be required to produce Covid-19 free certificate (PCR or antigen) taken no later than 48 hours before the show begins,” he said. 

“Additionally, all invited guests will be required to present a Covid-19 free certificate (PCR or antigen) taken no later than 48 hours before the official opening ceremony on Friday.”