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Nyemudzai Kakore Herald Reporter
Britain has hailed the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset), saying it will go a long way in improving the livelihood status of the majority of people.

British ambassador to Zimbabwe Ms Catriona Laing said the document was full of “good ideas and projects” and her country was ready to help Zimbabwe in implementing the economic blueprint.

She made the remarks at a meeting organised by the Professional Women Executives and Business Women’s Forum (PROWEB) last Friday. The meeting was organised to network Zimbabwean women business entrepreneurs with the rest of the world.

“In trade, we had two business delegations here in the last six months both very positive and we got some follow ups on that,” she said. “One thing that came out from the first business delegation is that Zimbabwe has good ideas and projects in Zim-Asset.

“There aren’t detailed financing projections on how to turn a concept into an actual proposal so we had agreed with Finance Minister (Patrick) Chinamasa that we will provide some expertise on joint ventures, for the financing perspective.

“We will provide some expertise on joint ventures. We are going to host a workshop for about 50 people and I said to Minister Chinamasa we must have female entrepreneurs and I will be monitoring that women participate.”

Ms Laing hailed Zimbabwe for its deliberate gender equality initiatives.

Netherlands ambassador Ms Gera Sneller said her country was willing to engage the private sector in agriculture and tourism.

“We are working quite hard to improve the links, especially with the private sector because we feel that with the kind of economy you have, when we talk about Zimbabwe, it has to be the private sector that drives the economy forward,” she said.

Zambian ambassador Ms Ndiyoi Mutiti said Harare and Lusaka have enjoyed bilateral relations for a long time.

“A foundation has already been laid. We need to build up on that,” she said. “There are several bilateral agreements between our two countries.

“There is a lot of cross broader trade still at a small level. We need to encourage investments between the countries.”

Canadian ambassador Ms Lisa Stadelbauer and her counterpart from Kenya Ms Lucy Chelimo both said opportunities should be created, especially in sharing economic and trade knowledge.

PROWEB president Ms Sibusiwe Bango told the diplomats and women executives: “The initiative was borne out of the realisation that women played a pivotal role in the country’s economic growth and development,” she said.

The meeting was attended by seven female diplomats, Women’s University Vice Chancellor Professor Hope Sadza and several female entrepreneurs.