Split ZITF from Bulawayo show

The 64th Zimbabwe International Trade Fair this week shows both some strengthening of what it has become, with 621 exhibitors, but highlights the need for a complete rethink and a bold and innovative move to create the sort of trade fair that it must become.

ZITF started off as the Central Africa Trade Fair in 1960 as the shop window for the growing industrial and mining base of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, now Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.

This stress as a manufacturing fair, which would include the agro-industrial base such as milling, sugar refining and the huge tobacco merchant block. But there was also the heavy industry starting with steel, and the rapidly growing light industry.

One of the largest sponsors was ARNI, the Association of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Industries, which made sure its entire membership took part.

ARNI soon became ARnI (Association of Rhodesian Industries), when Zambia and Malawi split off, and was rebranded CZI at independence. CZI does not form the core of the present trade fair.

Bulawayo was chosen as the host city for two very good reasons: it was significantly the largest industrial centre in the three countries and it was the central point of the railway grid, where the line to north that terminated in the Copperbelt split from the lines to the east, that ran through Harare and Mutare to Beira and from Gweru to Maputo.

Almost all industries and most mines were somewhere on that railway grid so it was easy for everyone to get to Bulawayo on a single train journey with their exhibits.

The break-up of Federation three years later changed it to a Southern Rhodesia fair, although Zambian exhibitors continued to come, but a couple of years later UDI meant that it became purely one nation, with perhaps just a South African tourism exhibit.

The trade fair absorbed the Bulawayo Agricultural Show a few years later, an amalgamation needed when it was obvious that in the UDI circumstances neither was economically viable, but that brought cows and farmers and their products to the Trade Fair and so it became something far different from being the face of industry.

There was also the show jumping, the jars of jam from farm kitchens and a whole lot of other things that were not part of a trade fair.

For all practical purposes it was the Bulawayo Show, although keeping the trade fair title, and developed in a very similar way to the Harare Agricultural Show, now the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show.

There was the usual block of Government and parastatal exhibits found at other shows, plus the retail trade that had entered agricultural shows many years earlier when this was the way to sell to farmers.

Visitors had to start looking to find the face of industry and manufacturing.

After independence there was the sales pitch to bring in foreign exhibits, but these were very similar to the foreign exhibits at the Harare show.

Small and medium enterprises started moving in, as they did in the now very similar Harare show, and they now dominate both shows, along with the non-business exhibits and entertainment, largely from Government organisations.

Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Botswana now all have their own equivalents of a trade fair, and all are very similar with none being a purely industrial and manufacturing fair.

But yet there is need for a decent regional industrial and agro-processing trade fair, showing precisely what is manufactured in the region, as African moves towards its AfCFTA.

This sort of trade fair would be large enough to attract the serious business people from other parts of Africa needing to see what they can procure, at what prices, from our region and having at least those five countries forming a large enough block to make the special business visit worthwhile and viable.

This looks like how ZITF needs to develop. At the very least it needs to revert to its industrial trade fair function for Zimbabwe.

So, for a start, the Bulawayo Agricultural Show and ZITF need to split and end their marriage of UDI convenience, with the Bulawayo show probably looking a lot like the present ZITF.

It could even move back towards the dead season in the farming year, August, although it would be smart if it did not run simultaneously with the Harare show since a fair number of exhibitors would like to be at both with the same exhibits, just the farmers being different.

In the old days the Harare and Bulawayo agricultural shows were complimentary although in slight competition. For some obscure reason that was never really explained, there was just one title of Royal show for Southern Rhodesia.

So the Harare and Bulawayo shows used to call themselves the Royal show in alternate years, although the extra word in the title never really affected participation or exhibits.

Once the Bulawayo show was re-established, ZITF would then be relaunched as what it was intended to be, a national and supranational purely business fair funded differently from expecting gate takings to supply much of the revenue and cashflow. ZITF does try to split the business visitors from the public with its trading days, but still the plethora of non-business exhibits does not create the right atmosphere.

While the trade fair itself more closely resembles a major town show, the ZITF organisers have tried hard to upgrade the back-up to the event with proper investment and business conferences and meetings.

In splitting off the trade fair from the Bulawayo show, these would not just remain but could probably be built up.

To a certain extent, the internet has devalued the usefulness of a trade fair, with businesses able to exhibit virtually, although with different degrees of skill, and with virtual directories being created.

But there is still the need to “kick the tyres”, that is inspect the actual physical products closely and do so while talking to someone who knows precisely how they work and is able to answer questions.

But the revamped and stand-alone ZITF could easily partner with CZI to create a decent virtual showcase of industrial products as well as the annual trade fair.

is no need to choose when you can have both.

There is no need for ZITF to ignore SMEs. In fact a sub-section of the trade fair can be devoted to qualifying SMEs, but these would be the small productive enterprises, ones engaged in industry or in things like ICT services.

Of particular importance would be the creators of luxury goods from Zimbabwean raw materials, as these tend to travel well; we would be looking at those who convert local fruits and the like into liqueurs, some of the fancy leatherwork, jewellery and the like. There are a lot of possibilities.

The general run of the sort of SMEs who tend to congregate at the ZITF these days would be better off at the future Bulawayo show, or even at a special business show for SMEs, one where they could exhibit the sort of the work they do and company procurement officers as well as the public could have a good look at quality and pricing and make deals.

SMEs tend to have a bad deal at ordinary shows, which should not be the flea markets that tend to develop but rather, even at an SME section or show, be a place where future deals can be sunk once everyone sees what is available.

A totally revamped ZITF could then seek participation from around the region and help turn the event into the major regional trade fair but still anchored on Zimbabwe. Of course it might need a new name, but one is available, the Central Africa Trade Fair.-businessweekly