Bulawayo (New Ziana)-This year’s 63rd edition of Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) is expected to be bigger and better as 93 percent of the space has already been taken as compared to 86 percent last year during the same period.
ZITF Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Ndebele said following the resounding success of the last year`s edition, many organisations and even countries that did not participate previously have shown interest in exhibiting.
“We are quite excited about ZITF 2023 and anticipating growth in both participation as well as attendance in numbers. Most importantly, we are predicting a high-quality show with strong emphasis on latest trends and innovations,” he said.
Ndebele said so far 415 exhibitors and 11 countries have expressed interest in participating in this year`s show.
“The countries who have shown interest in this year`s exhibition include Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Angola, United States of America, United Kingdom, Japan, United Arab Emirates (AUE) and Belarus,” he said.
He added, “In terms of space uptake, we are at 93 percent which is obviously better than last year at the same time when we are 86 percent”.
The ZITF is held annually at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre in Bulawayo and this year it will run under the theme: “Transformative Innovation, Global Competitiveness.”
The show will run from April 25-29 April with first three days reserved for business.
The theme, Ndebele said, is a built up on last year’s theme that acknowledges that companies had to rethink, reinvent themselves during the Covid-19 era.
“We are saying companies indeed did those things and demonstrated tremendous resilience. So, for one to continue with that resilience one needs innovation in order to be globally competitiveness.
“Thus, why we are encouraging the issue of innovation in this year`s theme and therefore we are anticipating that companies will be exhibiting and showcasing different innovations, be they in terms of goods and services or in terms of process they have adopted in order for them to be globally competitiveness,” said Ndebele.
He also said registration was still on going for exhibitors and business delegates.
“We have different events that will be running concurrently with the main exhibition. One may participate as exhibitor or business delegate or sponsor.
“Those opportunities still exist, and we are registering more participants in this regard. We regard ZITF as unique platform the offered to the region and world to showcase the best the country can provide in multisectoral fashion, “he said.
Ndebele said Bulawayo Agricultural Show will also run alongside the main exhibition showcasing livestock as well as small grains.
“This is a great opportunity that should not be missed by exhibitors,” he said.
New Ziana
