Prog ress through innovatio n
GENERAL MANAGER’S REPORT
INTRODUCTION ZITF 2014 ran from 22-26 April under the theme “New Ideas to New Heights: Progress Through Innovation”. 3 days were open to businesses only and 2 were open to the public. The show was open from 0900 hours to 1700 hours daily.
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS Exhibitors The summary and comparisons are shown below: Table 1.1 Exhibitor Statistics
2014
% of Prior Edition
2013
% of Prior Edition
2012
% of Prior Edition
2011
Zimbabwe Direct
369
92
401
98.3
408
91.7
445
Zimbabwe/Indirect
193
145
133
94.3
141
65.6
215
Sub Total
562
105
534
97.3
549
83.2
660
Foreign Direct
27
93.1
29
70.7
41
141.4
29
Foreign/Indirect
65
47.4
137
83
165
112.2
147
Sub Total
92
55.4
166
80.6
206
117
186
Grand Total
654
93.4
700
92.7
755
90.3
834
Exhibitor numbers increased particularly local indirect exhibitors reflecting an increase in group participation in order to contain participation costs. Some exhibitors took slightly smaller stands because of liquidity challenges. 60% of loyal exhibitors returned while first-time exhibitors accounted for 40%. 57% of exhibitors were from Harare and 35% were Bulawayo-based companies. Other cities around the country represented 8%. 18 nations were represented up from last year’s 16. Total square meterage occupied by foreign nations was at 8.5% of total sales compared to 5% last year.
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SPACE OCCUPIED The summary and comparisons are shown below: Table 1.2 Space Occupied Statistics 2014
2013
2012
2011
58,984
51,697
51,902
55,952
Area Occupied (m2)
55,087
48,576
48,697
51,362
% of Space
93.39
93.96
93.82
91.80
Net Area Available for Sale (m ) 2
Occupied
Net area available for sale was higher than in recent years as some leaseholders that were previously not included in the figures came on stream and areas previously not offered for sale were available for ZITF 2014. Percentage space occupation was less than last year with the show closing at 93.39%. Hall 2 was reconfigured into a conference facility and the few gaps that remained were from last-minute cancellations and no-shows.
EXHIBITOR PROFILE LOCAL EXHIBITORS ZITF is a multi-sectoral exhibition open to all players in our economy. The ZITF 2014 Marketing strategy followed through on last year’s focus areas, specifically:
Machinery and expertise for infrastructure development (energy, road, rail, water and sanitation)
Manufacturing ideas, processes and equipment for value addition
Automation and supplies for agro-processing
Knowledge and services relevant to education and tourism
Equipment and innovation to advance ICT development
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All sectors were represented in the exhibition and focus on the above sectors was apparent. Participants were grouped according to the following sectors and/or product groups:
Hall 1
Agriculture, automotive, consumer goods and electrics, light/heavy engineering, mining, Ultim8 Home (home improvements, furniture, interior decor)
Hall 2
Health-related exhibits, insurance, medical aid, pharmaceuticals and government
Hall 3
A’sambeni (leisure, travel and recreation), Scholastica (education careers and training), cosmetics, toiletries
Hall 4
PakPrint (plastics, packaging, printing, stationery), business services, consumer goods, chemicals, non-manufacturing, clothing/textiles, leather ware/ footwear and IT/hi-tech.
Hall 5
International (assorted)
External sites
Agriculture, automotive, light/heavy industry, leisure and mining.
The service sector dominated the exhibition, with a very high component of government and quasi-government organisations. Participation by the manufacturing sector improved and accounted for 18.4% of total direct exhibitors up from 14% last year.
FOREIGN EXHIBITORS 18 nations participated, up from 16. National stands came from Botswana, Brazil, The People’s Republic of China, The Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Poland, South Africa, United States of America and Zambia. India and Italy were represented by individual companies. The Republic of the Congo made a maiden appearance at ZITF while the United States of America returned after a long absence. The largest foreign exhibitors this year were The People’s Republic of China (Tianjin Province) and South Africa (Department of Trade and Industry). The People’s Republic of China occupied over 1,000 square metres from 600 last year, while South Africa increased their space from 700 square metres to 800 this year.
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FOREIGN DIRECT EXHIBITORS
Exhibitor
Country represented
Based in
American Embassy
USA
Zimbabwe
Botswana Investment and Trade Centre
Botswana
Botswana
Bagshaw Footwear
South Africa
South Africa
CFM-Mozambique Ports & Railways
Mozambique
Mozambique/ZW
Chamber of Commerce & Supplies Congo (Brazzaville)
Congo Brazzaville
Congo Brazzaville
Commercial Travellers (Poland)
Poland
Poland
COSV (Italy)
Italy
Zimbabwe
Department of Trade and Industry
South Africa
South Africa
Eduloan
South Africa
South Africa
Embassy of Brazil
Brazil
Zimbabwe
Embassy of Egypt
Egypt
Zimbabwe
Embassy of Indonesia
Indonesia
Zimbabwe
Embassy of Kenya
Kenya
Zimbabwe
Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Zimbabwe
Embassy of the Republic of Poland
Poland
South Africa
Embassy of Zambia
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Hose Manufacturers
South Africa
South Africa
Ingoby Investments (Pvt.) Ltd. t/a Africa Palm Oil Products
South Africa
South Africa
Iran Cultural Centre
Iran
Zimbabwe
Malawi Investment and Trade Centre
Malawi
Malawi
Namibia Ports Authority
Namibia
Namibia
Quality Engineers (India)
India
India
Set-a-solution
South Africa
South Africa
Tianjin Foreign Economic & Trade Promotion Association
China
China
Zenith M Panel (China)
China
China
Zhejiang Medicines and Health Products Import &
China
China
Export Co., Ltd.
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PRODUCT MIX The product mix was diverse, including organisations from the ICT, careers and training, manufacturing, agricultural equipment, engineering and energy sectors and services industry.
VISITORS PROFILE Over 79,000 people were admitted through the exhibition centre gates. Of these, 6% were exhibition visitors made up of over 4,800 business visitors and over 74,000 non-business visitors. The majority of these visitors to the exhibition were local. The business visitors came from the following countries among others: Botswana, The People’s Republic of China, The Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), India, Kenya, Pakistan, South Africa, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States of America, Zambia, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe.
CONCURRENT EXHIBITIONS Scholastica, the education, careers and training exhibition that runs concurrently with ZITF, occupied just over 50% of Hall 3. In addition to the expo, workshops and presentations were held on the Hall 1 Mezzanine floor with topics centred around career choice, career redirection and entrepreneurship. Ultim8 Home, the home improvement expo, was in Hall 1, while A’sambeni Africa Business Tourism Expo and PakPrint were in Halls 3 and 4 respectively The refocused MICE expo attracted 20 regional Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events buyers (including media) whose mandate was to source new markets, link local players with international clients as well as to promote the country as a prime destination for meetings and conventions. Some of these buyers have clients in South Africa as well as the United Kingdom, Australia and across Europe that we hope to interest in the MICE products in Zimbabwe. In addition to their meetings with exhibitors, the buyers were also taken on site visits in and around Bulawayo, Matopos National Park, Hwange National Park and Victoria Falls.
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CONCURRENT ACTIVITIES The International Business Conference, organised in conjunction with the NECF, attracted over 350 delegates. The conference, running under the theme, “Technology and Innovation: A Key Pillar for Zim-Asset Successful Implementation” was officially opened by the Senior Minister of State in the Office of the President, Honourable Ambassador Simon Khaya-Moyo on behalf of the Hon Vice President Mrs J Mujuru. Speakers came from Zimbabwe, People’s Republic of China, India, South Korea and United States of America. Other investment workshops were held within the exhibition centre, namely the Zimtrade Export Awareness Workshop on 23 April, the Zimbabwe-China Investment Summit as well as the A’sambeni MICE Industry Workshops, organised in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority on 24 April. The annual ZITF Golf Challenge took place at the Bulawayo Golf Club with a full field. Part of the proceeds will be going to assist the Tsholotsho Flood Victims. The ZITF 2014 Official Opening Ceremony was held on 25 April with the Guest of Honour His Excellency President R. G. Mugabe officiating. As usual, entertainment was provided during the public days (25-26 April) including; the Coca-Cola Drum Majorettes competitions, Zimbabwe Defence Forces Displays, Zimbabwe Prisons Display, Zimbabwe Republic Police display as well as the Ingwebu Tug-of-War Championships among others.
LOGISTICAL ISSUES Expo Guys, South Africa were appointed the ZITF 2014 Infrastructure Providers for designer stands. Accommodation, a perennial challenge, was once again co-ordinated by strategic partner Eco Logical Safaris. Air Zimbabwe, the ZITF 2014 Official Carrier, had daily flights, twice a day, on the Harare-Bulawayo route during ZITF. The ZITF Service Providers Association (ZSPA) this year had 98 members. Exhibitors were advised to use approved service providers only.
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INNOVATIONS The overall outlook of the show was much improved as more exhibitors this year had special design features on their stands, some of which were provided by the ZITF Company using the new stand building system purchased last year. Online registration and business matchmaking were introduced this year and uptake was encouraging. Now that the badge barcoding system is in place, it will make visitor registration system more efficient and other services like lead retrieval can be built onto it. BULAWAYO AGRICULTURAL SHOW The Bulawayo Agricultural Show is a concurrent event organised separately by the Bulawayo Agricultural Society and had its own distinct character and content. The Fat stock Section was well supported with 96 entries, an increase from last year’s 90. In addition, a sale was held where the Champion Steer exhibited by Marcedale Farm and all the cattle were sold. The Pedigree Section had 3 exhibitors, namely: Matopos Research Station, Biano Farm and Khami Prison. The quality of the cattle was very good. In the Sheep and Goats Section, exhibits were received from Matopos Research Station, Esigodini Agricultural College, Maziwa Farm, Ezweni farm, Ted Wilmot and Chris Grant. On display were Dorper and Indigenous Sheep, and Boer, Kalahari Red and Indigenous Goats. Pigs were exhibited by CR Ranching and Clievedon Farm. The Produce Section had a total of 1,425 individual entries and 9 groups from rural, urban and peri-urban farmers. The Home Industry Section also recorded good entries while the Horse Section had 2 horses from Harare.
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SPONSORS AND PARTNERS The following organisations and corporates contributed in cash or kind to make ZITF 2014 a success.
The support is acknowledged and appreciated, with hopes for more of the same in future.
CONCLUSION It is pleasing that 55 years on, the exhibition is still growing. Preliminary survey results show that most of our exhibitors achieved their business objectives set for ZITF 2014 and will likely be back again next year. Exhibitors also indicated that they met the relevant target buyer groups and conducted a fair amount of business, even among themselves. The 56th edition takes place in 2015 from 21-25 April and we invite all interested exhibitors to register early for this international event, which already looks promising.
NOMATHEMBA NDLOVU GENERAL MANAGER ZIMBABWE INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR COMPANY
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