Story by Davison Vandira
FIFTEEN Zimbabwean companies are in the Democratic Republic of Congo to strengthen brand awareness and enhance export opportunities in the week-long Zimtrade facilitated outward seller mission.
Zimtrade’s third outward seller mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo is set to broaden the export market established in Lubumbashi and now Kolwezi.
Participating companies have paid tribute to the organisers as commercial activities in Lubumbashi and Kolwezi, present diversified export options for Zimbabwean companies in various sectors of the economy.
“As a participating company in this outward seller mission, we are excited about this opportunity to increase our footprint in the region. This will help us improve our balance sheet,” said one of the exhibitors Mr Maxton Makwangwala.
“This is our first time to explore export business and we are learning a lot. Above all we have realised that we can match the competition. As such we are looking forward to tying several deals as the mission continues,” noted another exhibitor Mrs Brenda Solvate.
“These outward seller missions are very critical to us as we are afforded the opportunity of mixing directly with buyers which ultimately helps us in tailor-making our products according to what is needed by the market,” added another exhibitor, Pam Tairoodza.
Zimtrade Chief Executive Officer, Mr Allan Majuru is satisfied that the market intelligence done by his organisation has gathered enough information about the DRC market to sustainably drive export growth in this region.
“The main objective is to expand the country’s export base by creating seamless business synergies that will provide Zimbabwean companies with sustainable growth opportunities. We are confident of the intelligence that we have gathered concerning products that can make a mark here and we only need to maintain consistency with them,” he noted.
After establishing business relationships with DRC last year, Zimtrade is optimistic of cementing sustainable partnerships for enhanced export growth as well as strengthening the country’s economic diplomacy efforts, which are targeted at unlocking economic benefits from Zimbabwe’s good relations with countries on the continent and beyond.
