Zimpapers Logo

Africa Moyo, Deputy News Editor

IT is a hive of activity at the 7th SADC Industrialisation Week, which entered its third day in Harare yesterday, with a number of local and international organisations participating.

Upon arrival at the Rainbow Towers Hotel, venue of the SADC Industrialisation Week, one is welcomed by teardrop banners that fly all the way up to the entrance to the newly refurbished Harare International Conference Centre.

There are exhibits from State-owned enterprises such as TelOne, NetOne, Zesa Holdings, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe to local authorities, some of them rural district councils. Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed companies such as Dairibord Holdings Limited are also there, as everyone is fighting for recognition with the hope of expanding their reach in the region and beyond.

The fast-rising Victoria Falls Stock Exchange is also exhibiting, as it seeks to increase the number of listed companies from the present 13.

Interestingly, top property developer, WestProp Holdings Limited, has a stand next to the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, where it is listed. Investment development agencies from Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania, among others, are participating.

African financiers of industrialists such as the African Development Bank and the Afreximbank are also there.

While the nomenclature suggests the Industrialisation Week is a regional event, international blocs such as the European Union are participating, indicating the global importance of boosting industrial capacity.

Botswana Innovation Fund’s coordinator Ms Sithembile Dingake yesterday said: “We have come along to the SADC Industrialisation Week because we want to showcase the innovations that we have come up with as a government-funded programme.

“The Botswana Innovation Fund provides funding to innovators who are developing innovations. So, we are showcasing those innovations here because they will be able to assist Southern African countries in their industrialisation programme.

“We have found the week to be going well because we are engaging with quite a number of entrepreneurs, potential collaborators and people who are interested in adopting the technologies that we have brought.”

The Botswana fund is finding opportunities to collaborate with each other as SADC member States. “Therefore, we are very happy with the way the week is progressing,” she said.

Trade promotion officer in Namibia’s Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade Ms Shivute Meke, said they are showcasing products made by SMEs in her country. She was impressed by the turn-out at the Industrialisation Week, and they are having “a lot of networking”.

“As you can see, many people are visiting our stand. They are interested in some of our products so when we get back to Namibia, we will link them up with the companies back home and see how they can get their product to Zimbabwe,” she said.

An official manning the Xinhai Mining Machinery stand said it was their first time to attend the SADC Industrialisation Week “but of course it’s marvellous because I have noticed different countries’ delegates have been here to share different ideas and opinions about how to develop in the African countries”.

“We think it is a big chance for all of the companies to seize the chance and develop. For us as Xinhai Mining we are happy with the conference. We have been here (in Zimbabwe) for several years to provide the engineering, procurement and construction service for mineral processing companies,” she said.

The 7th SADC Industrialisation Week started on Sunday and ends on Friday.

It is running under the theme, “Promoting innovation to unlock opportunities for sustainable economic growth and development: Towards an industrialised SADC”.