CZI Annual Conference Kicks off
The Zimbabwe Confederation of Industries (CZI) annual congress began this Wednesday at Mana Resort in Harare with talks mainly focusing on strengthening value chains in relation to African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The agreement is expected to boost intra-African trade, and according to the World Bank, it could lift millions of people out of poverty by 2035. Zimbabwe gave full consent to AfCFTA in 2021 to allow the country to fully participate in the bloc.
AfCFTA’s Vision and Aim
The AfCFTA’s goal is to reduce tarrifs on 90 percent of goods traded between member states over a period of 10 years. This means that there will be stiff competition within African industries, and strengthening value chain is important to make sure that Zimbabwe businesses are able to compete.
The agreement also aim to boost trade within African countries by 53 % by 2035, creating jobs and lifting millions of people out of poverty. CZI president, Mr Kurai Matsheza said the annual congress is focusing on the opportunities and challenges presented by the AfCFTA.
“Our theme for this year is Answering the African Opportunity call,” he said. “This is in light of the continental free trade area, and we need to play our part. The globe is one, what happens here, happens everywhere else. We need to create industries that are able to compete globally,”
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Will businesses be able to thrive?
Mr Mtsheza urged companies be responsive to the changing environment because not all businesses are ready to face the competition.
“Some of our members are ready to meet the opportunities and challenges presented by this continental agreement, but there could be some who are not ready and those which are not ready will not survive” he said.
Taking advantage of this, the Zimbabwean government said it will focus in value chain development in areas such as soya, cotton, sugar, bus and truck among others.
Speakers at the congress
Lastly, over 300 delegates are attending the congress which is expected to end on tomorrow. Speakers include Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sithembiso Nyoni, businessman Shingai Mutasa and other local business people as well as international speakers.
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