SMEs urged to take advantage of ZITF

19 Apr, 2015 - 00:04 0 Views
SMEs urged to take advantage of ZITF

The Sunday News

THE Ministry of Small to Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development has encouraged small entrepreneurs to exhibit at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair as a way of marketing their products to lucrative international markets.
Small to Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said the ZITF provided Small to Medium Enterprises a platform to grow their businesses as well as to expose their products to a wider market.

“I urge all small businesses to grab the opportunity of exhibiting at an internationally acclaimed exhibition such as the ZITF. The ZITF provides the SMEs with a rare opportunity to access international markets and by so doing it promotes their growth.

“As a ministry we facilitate and send 20 SMEs every year for the ZITF exhibition and most of them get orders from international buyers for the products they will be showcasing. Having your products showcased at such a big event is the cheapest way of advertising yourself to a wider market,” Minister Nyoni said.

The ministry organises a workshop where 40 SMEs are selected and trained on improving the quality of their products and proper marketing procedures by the Standard Association of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.

ZITF Company’s general manager Mrs Nomathemba Ndlovu confirmed that a number of SMEs had confirmed their participation at this year’s showcase but could not be drawn to divulge the numbers and preferred to only say: “Given that there is no globally accepted definition of what exactly constitutes an SME, it is difficult for us to definitively say how many we have at this year’s show”.

She said in addition to the six coming under the ZimTrade banner, the Ministry of Small to Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development, Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development and the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment would have SMEs exhibiting as indirect exhibitors.

“Most of the Local Government Councils and Municipalities participating at ZITF will also bring in SMEs from their home towns.
“And of course, there are those SMEs who exhibit individually and are not affiliated to any business association,” Mrs Ndlovu said.

She said while the ZITF Company was not in a position to give price incentives to SMEs, it continues to support their participation through direct marketing.

“In the not too distant past we also had a programme where we encouraged the larger banks to sponsor SMEs participation. At the height of its success, the programme had individual banks sponsoring up to 40 SMEs. Unfortunately, due to liquidity constraints the banks have since suspended this programme but it is our hope that as the economic situation improves, the programme will resume,” Mrs Ndlovu said.

Prior to the exhibition the ZITF Company conducts targeted training for SMEs under the banner of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to ensure that they are able to showcase themselves effectively and get the best return from participation.

“In addition to the marketing platform which we offer to SMEs through exhibition participation, we also have a number of low-cost options to increase their brand visibility and give them reach beyond their stand.

“We have also availed conference venues and facilities for organisations such as the Ministry of SMEs and Co-operative Development and ZimTrade to conduct training seminars on topical issues for SMEs,” Mrs Ndlovu said.

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