Small businesses to benefit from access to markets during upcoming international fair
COVID-19 left a trail of destruction for many small businesses but the coming of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) will allow at least 356 small to medium enterprises to access markets despite the cost of participating in the annual international fair.
Bulawayo Chamber of SMEs coordinator Nketa Dlamini says a majority of small scale businesses failed to exhibit this year due to the high cost of participating which range from US$200 at a time when most business are recovering from loss of sales during the COVID-19 era.
“This year only a handful will exhibit their products simply because costs were beyond the reach of many who suffered a great loss due to Covid -19. We however hope that they will attend this event and make contacts which will boost their sales so that next time they are well prepared and ready to join others in exhibiting their work,” says Dlamini.
In an interview with one of the exhibitors who co-runs a small to medium enterprise with her husband, Amanda Nyathi highlighted that during the COVID-19 period, her company, Chemical Technology Africa, faced a lot of challenges which saw her business resorting to door to door marketing just to make profit.
“We started small and we would do door to door sales and deliveries just to make a living. With the outbreak of Covid-19 we found ourselves with orders that helped us grow and I am proud to announce that next week we will be at the ZITF under the Ministry of Women Affairs.”
“The journey has been full of obstacles but we know that this exhibition will help grow the business which will create employment for other women. So far we specialise in producing hand sanitisers, dish washing liquid, pine gel and other detergents and these products will be available on the stand,” said Nyathi
For Sibusisiwe Chitewe who owns Datsfield Enterprises, ZITF will expose her organic products to export markets which will be a dream come true.
“We specialise in producing organic condiments and spreads which include jam, sauces, dried fruits and nutritional porridges. All our goods are organic including the packaging we try and give the best there is in terms of quality.”
“I am very excited and I look forward to the exhibition as we will be under ZimTrade and we know that this will help us increase our exports. Locally our products are found in a few supermarkets and we grow from there,” says Chitewe.
The ZITF board chair Busisa Moyo said 62 % of confirmed local exhibitors are from Harare, 25 percent are from Bulawayo, 10% from other towns and 3 % are foreign.
“At least 10 countries are participating namely Botswana, DRC, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania. About 357 direct exhibitors have booked and confirmed participation on 40 109 square metres of exhibition space,” says Moyo.
Moyo also said 11 percent are first time exhibitors displaying a wide range of products and services including automobile and automotive equipment, industrial hemp, financial services and fintech, medical equipment, real estate and property development consultancy and advocacy, mining equipment, toiletries clothing and textile.
The ZITF is set to take place from the 21st to the 24th of September in Bulawayo. In 2020, the fair failed to kick off due to incessant COVID-19 regulations which prohibited large gatherings.
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