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ExhibitorsOrganisers

ZITF sells trade fair to embassies

by Editorial Team
written by Editorial Team

The Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company is visiting foreign diplomatic missions in Harare to secure business ahead of this year’s ZITF, which is set to be held from 26 to 30 April.

The company revealed this development on its social media pages this week. A delegation comprising ZITF Company chairman, Busisa Moyo, ZITF Company CEO, Dr Nicholas Ndebele and his deputy, Stella Nkomo is knocking on embassies’ doors asking them to participate in the trade and explaining the benefits of the show.

“This week ZITF had high-level representation in Harare visiting foreign diplomatic missions based in Zimbabwe to canvass for their participation in the 62nd edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (which is) taking place from 26 to 30 April 2022,” the company posted.

One of the embassies that the company’s executives, who were led by ZITF Company Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Nicholas Ndebele, visited is the Kenyan Embassy.

“This morning Dr. Nick Ndebele met Ambassador Stella Munyi of the Embassy of Kenya to deliver a personal invitation for an exhibit from Kenya as well as a business delegation of buyers, financiers and investors to visit the show,” said the company in another post.

The company’s executives so far been to the embassies of Angola, Botswana, DRC, Ghana, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Malawi, Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland and Tanzania.

“The response has been warm and highly encouraging. In fact, all the embassies visited have confirmed participation in the show either as exhibitors or visitors. Additionally, all the heads of missions will participate extensively in the Diplomats Forum scheduled to take place during the show,” Nkomo told The Chronicle newspaper

A business strategist who also advises on exhibition participation, Simon Bere who responded to the posts, praised the ZITF Company’s strategy and advised the company to use it way ahead of the event to give the target embassies and the companies from home to respond and prepare for participation.

“ZITF Company, a great approach. Maybe doing it earlier in the future will improve it since the embassy also needs to inform their business community and they often need enough time to factor such things in their annual plans and budgets,” said Bere in his response.

Over the past few years concerns have been raised over the low number of foreign exhibitors exhibiting at the trade fair compared to the past.  Most of the space which used to be taken by foreign exhibitors is being filled up by local business.

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ExhibitionsOrganisers

ZITF weighs fair format options

by Editorial Team
written by Editorial Team

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on Zimbabwe’s socio-economic life, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company is assessing options on how to hold the 2021 edition of the ZITF. This came to the fore when the ZITF Company Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Stella Nkomo commented on the matter on Twitter last Friday.

ZITF2021 is pencilled to be held from 20 to 24 April 2021 under the theme, “Leveraging technology as the new normal for business.”

Responding to a tweet by researcher, Thando Nkomo who had suggested that the company could consider adopting a virtual format, Nkomo indicated that her organisation was looking at many various formats.

“Noted with thanks, we are exploring as many options as possible. Thanks for the insight bhudi,” she tweeted.

Nkomo hinted that, in view of the raging pandemic, ZITF2021 would be either a virtual or hybrid exhibition. The ZITF Company was, however, worried by the spectre of a show without the in-person component which the market is used to.

“(W)e are working at either hosting a blended or virtual show. It’s just that if you take away the personal in exhibitions, you have removed the thing. Grinning face with smiling eyes,” she tweeted.

Some ZITF show goers were hopeful that a face-to-face ZITF would be held.

“(I am) hoping for a physical one (show). I guess it can be shortened to three days, and be limited to business days only. It will be easier to manage (the) numbers and COVID-19 regulations. I wonder how a virtual one would look like,” tweeted local government researcher who only identified himself as Bukhosi.

Responding to Bukhosi’s question on what the chances of ZITF2021 being held were, Nkomo indicated that the ZITF Company would continue to monitor the situation before giving the assurance that the show would go on in one format or the other.

“(We are) still hopeful. We just have to monitor these three months. However, whatever the case may be, we will have ZITF2021, it can be physical, hybrid or virtual,” Nkomo tweeted.

The 2020 edition of the ZITF, which was scheduled to run from 21 to 25 April 2020, could not be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown.  Government implemented a lockdown from the end of March last year as part of measures to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

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Organisers

ZITF mulling adopting technology for future hybrid shows

by Editorial Team
written by Editorial Team

The Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company is considering using technology to come up with online exhibitions given the negative experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen most exhibitions and other business events around the world being postponed.

Responding to a question posed on the twitter platform by Business Events on whether or not the company would roll out online exhibitions or a combination of both face-to-face and online exhibitions in future, ZITF Company Marketing and Public Relations, Stella Nkomo indicated that the company was already thinking of adopting technology for some of its future events.

“We are already thinking (of going) that direction. We have researched and (we) are excited about this opportunity especially the hybrid (combination) you talk about here,” Nkomo said.

The project, however faces the usual challenges such as funding.

“However, issues of connectivity, capital outlay and contextualising to our situation remain a challenge,” she said.

Nkomo said that her company could start with its smaller shows to gauge the market’s response to the initiative.

“So we might pilot with smaller specialised expo(sition)s to see the uptake. The exhibition industry was never keen to go this route because our money comes from the face-to-face concept. Now with COVID-19 we need to see how then we make our money online (by) coming with new business models,” Nkomo said.

The ZITF marketing boss stressed the need for local technology experts to partner with her company in coming up with the online exhibitions set up.

“We also need to challenge our local software designers to come on board and set up this virtual experience for us so that we are not (seen) looking outside for solutions which is quite expensive. Live and on-demand virtual set up solutions and related applications are expensive,” she said.

The ZITF Company Chairman, Busia Moyo hinted at the entity’s plans to adopt technology to modernise its shows when he spoke to the Sunday News late last month.

“We will have to re-think, innovate, modernise and upgrade our formatting of exhibitions in a post-COVID-19 world, employ adapted ICT (Information and Communication Technology), Fourth Industrial Revolution and Smart Green Design, thinking around how we can promote trade and investment. Our young people who are tech-savvy will be key to a futuristic offering delivered globally with a wider reach,” he said.

The Zimbabwe Trade Fair Company postponed the 2020 edition of its flagship show, the ZITF in March following the adoption by the Government of a number of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic which included social distancing and the outlawing of gatherings of more than 100 people. It also organises the Mining Engineering and Transport (MineEntra) and the Water Sanitation Hygiene and the Energy (WASHen) annual exhibitions.

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