Story by Oleen Ndori, Foreign Desk Editor
The EXPO 2025 Osaka Commissioner General for the Zimbabwe Pavillion Mr Allan Majuru says the country is showcasing its rich heritage and innovative spirit with a focus on promoting people-to-people interaction, trade and tourism.
“The one idea is for us to build a very good future society for our people and the people who work here. If you look at our stand, the one idea was focusing on innovation. A digital innovation to make sure that people experience the real Zimbabwe, the power of Zimbabwe. If you go on the VR you are able to experience the rain walk in Manna Pools, looking at wildlife, and even if you look at the experience in Victoria Falls, you can even feel and go through issues to do with bungee jumping, what to use that experience. So we used innovation to make sure people are in touch with the realities of what’s happening in Zimbabwe. The whole idea is to excite them so that we can then turn that natural reality into a real reality by people visiting Zimbabwe for tourism. But also I think if you look at back home, the way we are using innovation apps to foster good livelihoods for our people. We are also trying to make sure that we benefit much by changing our heritage into something that can benefit our societies,” he said.
Majuru added that the aim is to use the innovative and heritage-rich engaging Pavillion to draw investors into the country.
“We are using this platform to get investors that can value it for us to export. And also if you look at the NDS 1 and the innovation hub concept, the whole idea is focusing on heritage. We have got a rich heritage, and if you focus on heritage, you have got a unique selling point. Not all countries have got wildlife, not all countries have got Manna Pools, and not all countries have got the Victoria Falls. So what we are doing is to add value to that which we have so that we can trade and export competitively and also we can invite people to invest on the same so that we can get value from that.”
Expo 2025 Osaka runs until October this year and Zimbabwe will host its Expo national day in July.
