Since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was detected in Zimbabwe early this year, the local business events industry has been dealt a severe blow mostly from the inevitable mitigatory measures taken by the government to curtail the spread of the pandemic. The measures, which include physical distancing, travel restrictions and the stipulation of gatherings to a maximum of 50 people, have negatively affected events which depend on high turnout numbers such as exhibition and conferences.
Postponements
As a result of these circumstances business events organisers ended up with no choice except to postpone their events until such a time that they can be held safely to safeguard the health of both the organisers’ teams and that of other stakeholders like delegates, visitors and service providers staffers.
First to announce the postponement of its event was the business leadership organisation, CEO Africa Round Table (CEORT) which was forced to postpone its annual Roundtable conference, which was set to be held in Victoria Falls in March despite advanced preparations, owing to the uncertainty around the pandemic. When President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced the first raft of measures during the last week of March, he also pronounced the indefinite postponement of the country’s premier international multi-sectoral business event, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), which had been pencilled for 21 to 25 April in Harare.
The fourth edition of the ADMA Agrishow, an exhibition showcasing agricultural equipment and related goods and services, which was planned for 28 to 30 May, was also postponed.
In May the National Association of Agricultural Show Societies of Zimbabwe (NAASZ) announced the rescheduling of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society and provincial agricultural show dates from their traditional slots to mainly September and October.
“The National Association of Agricultural Show Societies of Zimbabwe has revised the show dates for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the association said in a statement.
Cancellations
Some events such as BuildExpo Zimbabwe, a building and construction show, whose second edition was scheduled to be held from 31 July to 2 August in Harare, was put off until next year citing the negative effects of the lockdown on players in the construction industry. The lockdown affected the industry’s financial ability to participate in the exhibition.
“Revenues for most companies in the country have been negatively affected by the general business slow down due to the mitigation efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. The building and construction industry has not been spared,” Panashe Maisva, the managing director of the organisers of the event, Coast to Coast FDI & Domestic Investment Consultants Zimbabwe, said.
BuildExpo was not the only show to suffer such a setback as the organisers of the SME International Expo had to put off a new show, the Innovation Expo, which was set for February this year.
“We were scheduled to do the Innovation Expo in February but it was affected by the lockdown,” SME International Expo Managing Director, Delight Makotose said.
The Marketers Association of Zimbabwe (MAZ) was supposed to hold a function in May to announce the 200 brands which would participate in this year’s Superbrands as part of the process which culminates in its annual Superbrands Awards at the end of the year but had to temporarily put the event off owing to lockdown regulations. The association also called off its annual Marketers Suppliers Expo (MASXPO) which was set for early April.
Lost revenue
The lockdown, which came into effect on 29 March, has also affected the day to day business activities of some business events organisers. NAASZ President, Godfrey Mavankeni told Business Events that some of his organisation’s members could not conduct meetings and other activities in preparation for this year’s shows.
“It (lockdown) has affected show preparations (as) most stakeholder meetings could not take place. Annual general meetings for some could not take place. It is difficult to book artists (who entertain show visitors) because of the uncertainty surrounding social gatherings,” he said.
Some provincial agricultural show societies which lease some of their properties were also affected as their tenants could no longer pay their rentals due to the lockdown-induced lull in business activity.
“Rental income has been affected as some show societies rely on rentals to make initial deposits for their events,” Mavankeni highlighted.
All hope not lost
Although the pandemic is not over yet, the gradual opening up of some sectors of the economy such as the informal sector over the past two months has signalled hope for some business events organisers. The organisers of the SME International Expo remain hopeful that the show will be on during its traditional October slot as has been the case since 2010.
“The SME International Expo will go ahead as scheduled,” Makotose told Business Events last month.
The ZITF Co, which organises the ZITF and its sister shows, the Mining, Engineering, and Transport (MineEntra) and the Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Energy (WASHen), remains positive that it will be able to hold its exhibitions during the remaining half of the year.
The company has been informing its various stakeholders on social media platforms such as twitter that its shows will be on but not on their traditional slots.
Crowded show scheduling
While the news that some shows can still be held during the remainder of the year is comforting to many business events industry stakeholders, how to hold them remains a challenge given that the pandemic is still around and the country’s tally of affected people is still on an upward trajectory. Even NAASZ, despite its optimism, could not disclose how its shows would be conducted given the need to observe the physical distancing and the 50-people limit for in-person events requirements.
“Details of how each show will be conducted shall follow,” is all that the association said in its notice with respect to the how part of holding exhibitions going forward.
Even if the ZITF Company, the NAASZ and the SME International Expo are to hold their shows as planned, this is likely to crowd all the exhibitions in the remainder of the year which will affect many stakeholders. One group of stakeholders who are likely to be affected the most are exhibitors from agricultural inputs supply sectors such as seed houses.
Most seed houses exhibit at almost all of the provincial exhibitions and the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show to market their brands ahead of the rain season. The crowding of such events in September and October with some show dates coinciding will make it difficult for them to decide on which to attend. Mavankeni concurred that holding all shows at the end of the year would affect participation by some exhibitors and would result in the cancellation of some exhibitions.
“Not all shows will be held as planned. Most will end up clashing which may result in some stakeholders attending major shows only,” he said.
As the business community counts each passing month towards the end of 2020, many regret the negative fortunes it brought with it. Even those in the conferences sector who have tried beating the negatives of the coronavirus pandemic and the attendant lockdown by adopting technology such as the Zoom platform will also agree that in terms of business events, the year is as good as written off.
