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Panashe Chikonyora

Zimbabwe’s national export promotion, ZimTrade, is working to increase local exporters’ participation in regional markets, especially Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Yesterday, ZimTrade hosted a Rwanda – Zimbabwe trade and investment conference to prepare and equip interested local exporters with knowledge regarding the vast export opportunities in that country.

Said ZimTrade export promotion manager Vuyiswa Mafu during the event:

“We are not just looking at Rwanda itself alone, but the neighbouring countries.

“The services sector was mentioned again that it is a big deal in Rwanda and the opportunities there are endless. Tourism also, as well as the education sector because Rwanda is looking for many programmes with other countries, to come into its education sector.

“The agricultural sector there is very broad, and the building and construction sector from my laymen standards I call it booming because they are modernising using the Singapore model.”

According to ZimTrade, the capacitation will see local exporters being exposed to the huge opportunities in Rwanda’s FMCG, tourism, education, agriculture, building and construction and furniture sectors.

The move is part of the key initiatives by the national export development and promotion agency to drive or increase the country’s exports into new regional markets.

And recently ZimTrade hosted dissemination seminars to share the findings of market surveys it conducted for Angola, Namibia and Malawi last year.

The trade promotion body said it had identified four more other regional markets, namely Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, DRC and three new markets outside Africa; Dubai, China and Japan in its 2020 to 2023 strategy to increase participation in export promotion activities.

ZimTrade together with qualified local exporters will be going to Rwanda for a conference which is going to be held from the 24th to the 26th of March this year.

Last month ZimTrade chief executive, Allan Majuru implored Government to establish a one-stop-export shop to cut red tape and cost of getting permits for companies intending to export goods to foreign markets if the country is to achieve its target of earning US$6 billion from exports by 2030.

Zimbabwe’s annual exports have for years been stuck below US$5 billion, a trend the country’s trade promotion body, ZimTrade and Government now seek to reverse.