Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) officially launched the 2019 Marketing Campaign yesterday with the Ministry of Industry identifying the annual expo as a key platform for the government to engage the international community as the country seeks to strengthen linkages which are pivotal to achieving the desired economic growth rate trajectory with a vision for the Southern African nation to become an upper-middle income society by 2030.
The trade expo will next year be hosting the 60-year diamond trade show running from 23-27 April 2019 at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre in Bulawayo under the theme, “Propagating Industrial Exhibition Growth through Trade and Investment.”
“Celebrating its 60th anniversary the annual ZITF continues to be not a just a demonstrative theatre for Zimbabwean businesses but offers investment prospects, learning content and consultative opportunities that are imperative to the national development agenda,” Ndlovu said.
“From a government perspective, we continue to rely on the trade showcase for a bird’s eye view snapshot of the economy that describes our markets, shows actual trends and opens up[ new business opportunities.”
The Industry Minister went on to say that stands at the ZITF are already being allocated within their various product groupings.
“To date, a total of 138 exhibitors have confirmed their participation for ZITF 2019,” Ndlovu said. “Sectors represented include services (health, education, and business), manufacturing (food, chemicals), building and construction, government, ICT, media and printing, SMEs, agriculture, mining, local authorities and transport among others.”
“In terms of space uptake, 49 631 square metres have been made available for sale. Of this, 63.7% has been taken up compared to 59% sold at the same time last year.”
“The government, therefore, calls upon local exhibitors in these and other sectors to take advantage of the integral networking and sourcing platform offered by ZITF 2019 and confirm their participation.”
Fears of a harsh 2019, where ZITF celebrates the diamond jubilee are already looming as Zimbabwe’s 2018 faces fuel queues and companies threatening to close down as the year goes to an end.
The Industry Minister in response to such fears said that it is to early to predict for a harsh 2019.
“The outlook for the next year seems very positive,” Ndlovu said. “With the support of the whole of industry, the ZITF Company loos forward to a fruitful and successful ZITF 2019. Advertisers and sponsors are invited to take advantage of this opportunity to increase their visibility.”
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