Zim upbeat on Rwandan investment opportunities

TINASHE MAKICHI

Zimbabwe is upbeat on the prospects of various trade and investment opportunities to be offered by Rwanda.

AB Communications CEO Benson Mbewe

Addressing a Rwanda- Zimbabwe Trade and Investment virtual conference yesterday, ZimTrade chief executive Allan Majuru said there has been an insignificant trade between Rwanda and Zimbabwe and this investment conference was going to unlock various opportunities of trade between the two countries.

“ZimTrade will be taking 100 companies to Rwanda for this investment conference and we will stand guided by our hosts on the numbers with regards to the Covid-19 protocols. The delegation travelling will be led by Foreign Affairs Minister Shava,” Majuru said.

ZimTrade CEO Allan Majuru

“We  believe the trade between Rwanda and Zimbabwe has been insignificant and this investment conference will play a huge part in unlocking investment opportunities between the two countries.”

Added Majuru: “We are also trying not to look for trading opportunities but we are also looking at creating a platform where Rwanda uses Zimbabwe as a platform to extend its services to countries this side of the region. We might be called landlocked as Zimbabwe but we call ourselves land linked and the same applies to Rwanda.”

Majuru said ZimTrade will be looking at pushing for opening warehouses that can feed into that region so that there is market presence for goods and services. He said there is a plan to go beyond Rwanda.

Several business people are set to attend the Rwanda-Zimbabwe Trade and Investment Conference to be held from July 28 to 30 in Kigali, Rwanda.

The conference has been organised in partnership with AB Communications, a multimedia firm that owns the Business Times, ZiFM Stereo, 98.4 FM Midlands, Hevoi FM in Masvingo Province, Mighty Movies among other interests.

Rwanda Development Board chief executive Claire Akamanzi told the virtual conference Rwanda was ready to welcome a business delegation from Zimbabwe.

“We have been working together as two countries. We are ready to welcome the business delegation coming from Zimbabwe.  We hope this conference is going to increase trade between the two countries as well as new investment opportunities. As Rwanda we continue to offer a conducive environment for investment with a market of 25m people with a high economic growth rate,” Akamanzi said.

The virtual conference unpacked trade and investment opportunities in both Rwanda and Zimbabwe. 

Head of department export facilitation at Rwanda Development Board Diane Sainzoga said the investment conference was a perfect opportunity for Zimbabwean companies to also exhibit at the east African’s International Trade Fair.

 “This is an opportunity considering that the conference will be happening at the same time as the Rwanda International Trade Fair. This will provide an opportunity to hold business to business meetings across various business sectors,” Sainzoga said.

The virtual meeting held yesterday was attended by Ambassador of Rwanda to Zimbabwe James Musoni, Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Rwanda Charity Manyeruke together with high level officials from the Rwanda Development Board, ZimTrade and Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency, among others.

AB Communications chief executive Benson Mbewe told the virtual meeting that: “This is going to be a wonderful experience for the business community and we are still finalising conference packages at the moment.”

Rwanda has vast opportunities for Zimbabwean businesses wishing to do trade and to invest in its fast-growing economy while Zimbabwe is keen on growing its exports to Rwanda with market survey results by ZimTrade, indicating that locals could ride on this destination to generate more earnings.

Increasing trade with Rwanda is expected to enhance access to markets in the East African Community and in turn, increase Zimbabwe’s exports to the region with a combined GDP of more than US$177bn.

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