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Minister Nyoni

Simiso Mlevu recently in Victoria Falls
Trade between Zimbabwe and Japan involving small to medium enterprises, has risen steadily from zero to $10 million over the last three years, Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni has said.

Minister Nyoni told delegates at the just-ended 15th Zanu-PF National People’s Conference in Victoria Falls, that local entrepreneurs had carved a market for their products in Japan and were already exporting.

“Japan has given us business worth $10 million over the past three years,” she said.

“Every year in March our local entrepreneurs are trained on how to prepare their preferred products like marula and masawu jam, dried mangoes and herbal tea for them.”

Minister Nyoni said one of the products on demand in the Asian country was a herbal tea made from umsuzwane in isiNdebele or zumbane in Shona.

In Manicaland province, Minister Nyoni said, small-to-medium entrepreneurs have Makoni herbal tea which has also been accepted well by communities and supermarkets.

“There is no province in Zimbabwe which does not have natural resources that can be exploited under Zim-Asset’s Value Addition and Beneficiation cluster,” said Minister Nyoni.

She called on villagers who might need assistance on value addition to contact her ministry.

“If you do not know how to add value to abundant natural resources found in your surroundings, get in touch with our ministry,” she said.

“We are going to train you and help take the products to supermarkets.”

She said other products from local communities included Resurrection/Mafavuke Herbal tea, Marula oil and Baobab oil.

Minister Nyoni said in Mashonaland East, enterprising business people were making a wide range of jewellery, walking sticks and plastic spoons out of animal horns.