The Sunday News
Ndumiso Mlilo in Johannesburg
SOME Zimbabwean companies that exhibited at the three- day Southern African International Trade Exhibition that ended in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Tuesday are hoping for better returns after signing a number of deals with companies aimed at enhancing their businesses.
Seven Zimbabwean companies were part of the 1 000 that took part in the exhibition that started on Sunday last week.
Officials from some of the companies told Sunday Business that they signed a number of deals which if followed to fruition would see marked improvement in their exports receipts.
An official with Organo Seven Ms Nyarai Mbizi said they signed deals with companies from South African and Zambian who intend to buy their milk products in bulk.
“Taking part at the SAITEX was fruitful because we signed deals with two companies, from Zambia and South Africa.
“We will also make a follow-up on the trade deals with company from United Kingdom. This was indeed an eye opener because we also learnt how to do business, packaging and how to make quality products,” she said.
Organo Seven specialise in selling bee wax and honey.
She said people who visited their stand were interested in their products since they were natural,
Ms Mbizi said they would be selling their products to the two companies but could not disclose how much the deals were worth since there were further negotiations under way.
Beitbridge Juicing Company business development manager Mr Jerry Mundondo said the exhibition exposed their products to diverse markets.
“More than 50 people visited our stand and 24 left their business cards. About 12 of those who left their business cards were serious and we will be communicating with them with the hope of clinching a deal. We got good exposure and managed to network and now have business leads to follow up.
Many companies from different countries were showing interest in doing business in Zimbabwe,” he said.
The company manufactures juice concentrates and citrus oils.
ZimTrade public relations officer Mr Dillion Kamutenga expressed satisfaction with the visitors who inquired about investing in Zimbabwe.
“The response we got is encouraging as some visitors showed interest in doing business in Zimbabwe. Some came to our stand to explore opportunities in areas like the manufacturing sector. It was also an eye opener for some of our companies because they managed to network and benchmark their company to ensure they meet international standards. They got the opportunity to learn and make contacts and observe international trends,” Mr Kamutenga said.
More than 1 000 companies took part in the exhibition from non-food retail products with special sectors featuring tools, hardware and building supplies, housewares and homewares. Importers, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, agents and entrepreneurs were provided with an opportunity to do business.
Exhibition Management Services who organised the show said that they were happy with the 2015 exhibition.
“We had over 12 000 visitors coming to the exhibition in the first two days.
“We were also joined this year by our cousins from Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
“It was a great success because we put the buyers and those companies selling their wares under the same roof to do business.
“Last year we had people from 55 countries pre-registering online to attend the show while this year we had 66 countries doing so,” the company’s managing director Mr John Thomson said.
