Preparations for the 63rd edition of the ZITF take shape
PREPARATIONS for the 63rd edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) are gearing up with officials flagging “palpable interest” from both domestic and international participants.
ZITF chief executive officer Nicholas Ndebele told NewsDay that this year’s expo will take place from April 25 to 29 under the theme Transformative Innovation, Global Competitiveness.
“ZITF preparations are gearing up with palpable interest from both domestic and international participants. The first three days (April 25-27) will be a strictly business-to-business networking and trading period while the last two days (28 and 29 April) will allow the general public to appreciate and sample the exhibits on show,” Ndebele said.
He said barely two months after the official launch of the marketing and promotional campaign, 80% of available space had been taken up (37 616 square metres).
The international, multi-sectoral exhibition’s theme recognises that the path to success for Zimbabwean companies may not necessarily lie within its borders.
“Today’s hyper-connected world brings with it a new era of opportunities for industrial and economic growth. In the global economy, the speed at which business takes place or at which the economy moves, has become almost supersonic with one’s ability to compete on the global stage matched only by their ability to continuously innovate,” he said.
The ZITF boss said this year’s edition was taking place at a time when Zimbabwe is on a development fast-track projectile characterised by a plethora of innovative strides towards ensuring the country reclaims its space in the global comity of progressive nations.
“This year’s trade show will therefore be characterised by new developments and surprises in store that will add further impetus to the country’s accelerated drive to achieve a knowledge-driven economy as a catalyst for sustained growth, industrialisation and modernisation of the country as espoused by the national development strategy,’’ he said.
Ndebele said participants could look forward to a productive exhibition experience, which leaves them armed with deals sealed, partnerships secured and a wealth of promising possibilities to explore.
He indicated that following the unveiling of the dates and theme at the end of last year, the company began its international participant recruitment drive, which included high-level stakeholder visits to heads of foreign diplomatic missions based in Zimbabwe to canvas for their participation.
“The visits, which targeted Zimbabwe’s traditional and new trading partners, sought to invite envoys to facilitate national exhibition participation by their home countries as well as business delegations of buyers, financiers and investors to visit theshow for unparalleled opportunities to interact with Zimbabwean brands, products, services and business people,’’ he said.
Ndebele said exhibition bookings were now open and the response to the sales and marketing efforts have been “positive”.-newsday
