ZimTrade

Export Promotion

Trade is the backbone of the Zimbabwean economy, with export spearheading the economic development agenda. Export generates foreign exchange earnings, creates employment, helps alleviate poverty, facilitates transfer of technology, encourages innovation, and attracts investments, including FDI.

ZimTrade aims to promote Zimbabwe as a reliable and competitive Sourcing and Business Destination for manufactured goods, horticultural products and value added services. The organisation's activities are carefully designed and implemented to stimulate exports to existing and new markets. It provides assistance to established exporters as well as to would-be exporters to understand and penetrate developed and emerging markets.

ZimTrade undertakes a wide range of targeted export promotion activities. These include:

1. Participation in regional and international trade fairs and exhibitions.
2. Organising trade visits and missions for face-to-face meetings with pre-screened partners
3. Organising Buyer-Seller Meetings
4. Participate in and organise Business Summits, Conferences, Workshop and Business Fora
5. Organise International Buyer’s Programmes to bring selected international buyers to Zimbabwe to meet Zimbabwean exporters
6. Organise business Match-Making events to find a partner/buyer
7. Organize Product demonstrations and Tasting

Export Development

ZimTrade undertakes a range of ‘Export Development’ Initiatives which are directed at building and strengthening the capacities of exporting enterprises and would-be exporters to win on the export front. To this effect ZimTrade regularly organises structured capacity building programmes and training in different regions of Zimbabwe. The actions target different sectors and exporter groups, including Women and Youth entrepreneurs.

These capacity building initiatives are focussed on:

1. Capacity building of the entrepreneurs (the exporter and potential exporters)
2. Developing Export Readiness of the Enterprises to meet customers’ requirements and needs, and compliance standards & norms
3. Product development to enable Zimbabwean products meet buyers’ requirements in terms of quality, packaging and labelling, Standards & Norms, and technical/scientific compliance.

ZimTrade'S Export Development initiatives include the MARKETING AND BRANDING FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS TRAINING PROGRAMME

The ZimTrade Marketing and Branding for International Competitiveness (MBIC) Training Programme is a capacity building and customised export training for Zimbabwean enterprises, which aims to develop and enhance export skills. The Programme was reviewed and rebranded with the assistance of the International Trade Centre (ITC), under the EU-funded Trade and Private Sector Development Programme (TPSDP).

The training is targeted at existing, potential and emerging exporters. Course content covers the following modules, among others:

1. Optimizing Value Creation and Retention (the use of brands, certification marks as well as other differentiators for value adding)
2. Foundations in Export Marketing (Negotiation Skills and Selling Skills)
3. Identifying Market Opportunities
4. Marketing Strategy and Planning
5. International Marketing Mix (Includes Customer Value Proposition)
6. Export Documentation

The MBIC Training Programme is generic and targeted at the community of exporters at large. Plans are to modify modules to suit segmented or selected exporters as well as particular industry and/or sectors. Participants are recruited directly by ZimTrade.

Export Facilitation

ZimTrade works closely with government agencies and exporters to simplify trade procedures so as to enable smooth movement of goods across borders.

Policy Advocacy

As the executive arm of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, ZimTrade works closely with our parent Ministry and other Public Sector Agencies to improve trade regulations and trade policies for the benefits of the exporter’s community of Zimbabwe.

ZimTrade participates in national consultations on regional integration, WTO matters and on bilateral trade agreements.

Exporter After-Care

ZimTrade strives to build strong customer loyalty and fidelity to ensure that the foreign buyers keep sourcing their requirements from Zimbabwe. The organisation has dedicated Client-Managers, who service importers’ community. They listen to their complaints, problems and obstacles in sourcing from Zimbabwe and intervene promptly to find solutions.

ZimTrade maintains direct contacts with buyers through our Newsletter so as to update them of all developments on the export front.