The Mozambiue Trade Fair ended last week and what a success! A lot of participants from across the world with South America (Brazil), Europe and Asia sending representatives. Our cousins from South of Limpopo were there too as is the norm.
How did Zim fare? The answer is Pathetic! We only had 3 representatives, 2 people from the SME Ministry and a small arts and crafts rep! Now this is unacceptable for a country that is facing serious forex shortages. This is a national embarrassment especially at this juncture where the buzz word in local business is serious export business.
Where was ZIMTRADE? This entity which recently won a continental award should consider returning it! How on earth we failed to send representatives to this important event is mind boggling. Big business bodies such as the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) should also take the blame for the failure to fully represent the nation at this important business event.
Maybe we are being too harsh on them, Zimbabwe has never taken Mozambique seriously when it comes to business. The number one problem is perception-almost everyone views Mozambique as a poverty stricken country that is largely dependent on aid. The second problem is the language barrier. Portuguese seem to be a barrier to doing business in the neighbouring country. As a result, many a company prefer English destinations when it comes to business. There is need for a change in attitude if we are to succeed in business in that country-we have to learn Portuguese!
South Africans are all over the country looking for untapped business potential, Our Nigerian brothers are there too-travelling thousands of kilometres to reach the country, our friends from China are there too busy extracting natural resources. If other nationalities who do not speak Portuguese are flocking to Moz then we have not excuse for the language barrier!
Mozambique Opportunities
Tourism: Tourism is picking up and the sector presents many opportunities to serious investors
Agribusiness: A growing area as agriculture production expands in the vast country
Construction: It is picking up in areas such as Maputo and a number of Zimbo companies are involved.
Education: The increased migration of Non Portuguese speaking people is creating avenues for English Speaking educational institutions
Zimbo Community Services: The Zimbo community in Mozambique is increasing everyday resulting in the community requiring services such as money transfers which are currently pricey.
The list of opportunities is endless and all that is needed is a positive mindset and a good grasp of the Portuguese language. We sincerely hope that next year our country will have better representation at this important business fair.
