The Zimbabwe Pavilion at the Global Expo Botswana (GEB) took home top honours on Thursday, winning the award for ‘Best Country Pavilion’ at the four-day trade show.
The pavilion, which was facilitated by trade promotion organisation, ZimTrade, and included nine companies, stole the show ahead of numerous other country pavilions including exhibits from South Africa, China, India, Sweden, Ghana, Kenya, South Korea, and Swaziland.
GEB is Botswana’s premiere trade event with more than 200 exhibitors from across the world showcasing their products and services at this multi-sectoral show. Participating under the ZimTrade banner were large and small companies from the processed foods, agricultural inputs, building and construction materials, clothing and leather sectors.
ZimTrade Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Allan Majuru, said that the prize capped off a very successful showing by Zimbabwe.
“The companies have reported great meetings and though we are still collating figures, we expect that the secured business and the contacts made during the event translate into a good return on investment. It was also thrilling that our pavilion was recognized by the organisers in such a way,”
Mr. Majuru added that the award will go a long way to building brand Zimbabwe in the region and beyond.
“This kind of recognition does a lot for our profile as a country. The show was an opportunity to open business relations with retailers, government procurement agencies and other buyers from all over the world. Our pavilion offered diversity and quality, and the award served to highlight this further,” he said.
Mr. Majuru also emphasized that in addition to developing international markets, the show offered a vital opportunity to improve economic relations with Zimbabwe’s Western neighbour.
“Botswana and Zimbabwe are traditional trading partners, but trade between the two has been minimal in recent years. Our exports to Botswana in 2017 were US$19,6 million – just 0.4% of their import bill, which represents a missed opportunity for us. We conducted a survey in that market in 2018 and confirmed an appetite for Zimbabwean products, especially in those sectors that we took to the Global Expo. In addition to this, countries can do business there duty free and quota free under the SADC Trade Protocol as well as a standing bilateral agreement between Zimbabwe and Botswana. Putting on a good show at GEB 2018 was a critical step in developing this market, and in line with the much warmer diplomatic relations between our two countries,” said Mr. Majuru.
Publish Date: Friday 09 November 2018
