TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) has called on the businesses community to embrace digital platforms for them to reach wider markers as well as to absorb the shocks of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
CRZ president, Denford Mutashu, told Business Times that the digital economy, which discourages physical contacts and social gathering as the fight against virus intensifies, has presented new opportunities for doing business.
Mutashu said even in a crisis there are opportunities for growth as the pandemic has resulted in an increase in online activities such as virtual meetings, online shopping and door-step delivery of goods and services.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic has led to the postponement of various big national conferences like the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, Mine Entra and that has got a detrimental effect directly and indirectly to both emerging and established businesses. These platforms have annually been used for strengthening relationships between businesses and also getting new businesses especially by emerging companies.
“This has also seen a congregation for regional and international cooperates coming through to attend such critical conferences but unfortunately due to successive lock downs that have happened across the world, Zimbabwe included, it has not been possible since last year to host such a big conference because of limitations on the number of people that government imposed to curb the spread of the virus,” Mutashu told Business Times.
He added: “(Given that), we urge local companies to participate effectively on digital platforms and of course virtual conferences have become a norm and those have also been used to reconnect of course with the rest of the world.
“So, at this juncture it is quite unfortunate that such conferences may not proceed physically but we can also advise businesses to take advantage of the aerial for digital platforms that have emerged since the beginning of the initial lock downs in 2020 as the Covid-19 ravaged nations and economics.
“It has also been a platform to promote tourism, remember if you are looking at ZITF at any given time that the conference is held the tourism sector benefits through hotel occupations and increased tourist attraction within the areas of Bulawayo and the Matabeleland region and of course spreading to Victoria Falls so that also has a negative bearing on the tourism sector.”
