The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE CEO Africa Roundtable is next week set to lead a delegation of 20 local chief executive officers on a business mission to Malawi to explore trade and investment opportunities
In an interview, CEO Africa Roundtable chief executive officer Mr Kipson Gundani said the delegations will be in Malawi from 25 to 28 May.
“We will be leading a delegation of 20 Zimbabwean CEOs to explore trade and investment opportunities in Malawi. The business mission, which will be held in Lilongwe aims to promote investment and trade between Zimbabwe and Malawi in targeted sectors. These include energy, agriculture and agro-processing, education, health, ICT, transportation, real estate and tourism, among others,” said Mr Gundani.
He said the business mission will provide information about the business environment and business opportunities available in Malawi and Zimbabwe. Mr Gundani said it will also provide space and platform to discuss collaboration on how to implement innovation and productive partnership with Malawi’s private sector.
“We also intend to gather production and processing solutions by leveraging the latest technologies. Our intention is to partner like-minded institutions in Malawi through the assistance of the Embassy of Malawi to host the Zimbabwe-Malawi Business Roundtable on 26 May in Lilongwe. The Business Roundtable is expected to bring together Zimbabwean and Malawian private sector executives, senior Government officials and multilateral stakeholders to champion business between the two countries,” added Mr Gundani.
He said the Roundtable will serve as a platform for Zimbabwean and Malawian business and Government leaders to engage on key sectors, explore new business opportunities and meet potential business partners. Mr Gundani said they anticipate to network with key private sector and decision makers, and advocate to shape effective Zimbabwe-Malawi trade and investment ties and pacts.
“The Roundtable which is expected to shape incentives for expanding business operations between the two countries, is effectively a deal breaking platform between investors and project owners from various sectors. We will also have dedicated business to business meetings with Malawian counterparts to further explore specific opportunities.”
Mr Gundani said they hoped to facilitate the matchmaking of Zimbabwean and Malawian businesses together with the business chambers in Malawi such as the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Dr Nancy Saungweme
He said the four-day business mission will also include company visits, tourism visits and sampling of Malawian culture.
Some of the key speakers lined up for the business mission include Zimbabwe Ambassador to Malawi, Dr Nancy Saungweme, Malawi Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mwayiwawo Pole Pole, Zimbabwe Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Raj Modi and Malawi Minister of Industry and Commerce, Roy-Kachale-Banda giving the key note address.
Dep Minister Modi is set to present on doing business in Zimbabwe, while the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) will also share on doing business in Malawi. Zimbabwe-Malawi trade relations date back to 1985, the year in which the two countries signed a Bilateral Trade Agreement allowing duty-free imports on goods that meet 25 percent minimum domestic content provisions.
Minister Raj Modi
Data from the Trade Map indicate that total trade between Zimbabwe and Malawi decreased from US$126 million in 2015 to US$51 million in 2019 and the Balance of Trade (BoT) has been in favour of Malawi. Available data also indicates that Malawi is the net importer of goods which gives Zimbabwean entrepreneurs a chance to tap into the Malawi Market while the latter also benefit. Both countries are members of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and Sadc thus providing a multilateral trade platform to do business.
