Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the organisers of the SME International Expo 2020 which is held in Harare in October every year are convinced that the event will be held this year. This was said by the SME International Expo Managing Director, Delight Makotose recently.
Speaking to Business Events over the weekend, Makotose indicated that the event would go ahead.
“We are planning to the SME International Expo in October. However, were scheduled to do the Innovation Expo in February but it was affected by the lockdown,” he said.
Despite the setback occasioned by the coronavirus Makotose stressed that the small businesses show would go on.
“The SME International Expo will go ahead as scheduled,” said a hopeful Makotose.
Makotose’s word comes against a background of postponements and cancellations of events in Zimbabwe and across the globe owing to the pandemic. In Zimbabwe events such as the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), which was set to be held from 21 to 25 April, the ADMA Agrishow and the CEO Africa Round Table conference which was scheduled to be held in March in Victoria were put on hold until further notice.
On the continent, the second edition of the Intra-Africa Trade Fair (IATF) which was set to be hosted by Rwanda has been pushed to next year. So too has the World Expo (Expo2020 Dubai) for which the host, the United Arab Emirates, had covered ground in preparations. It is now scheduled to be held next year.
Despite this grim picture, indications on the global business events arena are that normalcy is very slowly returning with countries such as China having begun to allow the holding of business events. Last week the German government separated business events from mass events kindling hopes of the return of business events in that country.
Makotose’s strong conviction that this year’s SME International Expo would be held is also in the context of the Government’s gradual relaxing of the lockdown regulations which may see the country’s return to normalcy by year-end.