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Business Writer

The industrialization drive which is critical for sustained economic growth and development is gaining momentum with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce set to host an indaba to promote accelerated industrialisation and commerce in the country.

Modernisation and industrialisation, which is the thrust of President Mnangagwa’s administration towards Vision 2030 to be an upper middle-class economy, is taking place in formerly marginalised areas like Binga, Tsholotsho, Kanyemba and Mwenezi.

The planned National Industrialisation Conference set for Bulawayo in December will be under the theme “Industrialisation and Commerce to achieve Vision 2030”.

The major objective of the conference is to promote accelerated industrialisation and commerce in the country, the ministry said.

As part of a build-up to the conference, the ministry is calling on research papers or presentations on areas that can contribute to accelerated industrialisation in Zimbabwe to achieve Vision 2030 goals.

Areas of interest include investment and business environment, ease of doing business and harnessing domestic and diaspora finance for industrialization.

In the regulatory framework, special economic zones and technology transfer are expected to also come under the spotlight.

The focus will also be on the industrial competitiveness of the country with market development, domestic market expansion and export promotion looked into.

Another key area of focus is on value chain integration.

The National Development Strategy (NDS1) prioritises value chain development where 10 priority value chains have been identified for industrial growth and structural transformation.