Heads of industry meet this week from Wednesday to Friday in Harare for the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industry (CZI) annual congress with spotlight on the US$ 300 million line of credit to the manufacturing sector set to be launched.
The industry body in partnership with Loita Capital and Raindew Trading has set aside US$ 200 million for industry financing, procurement of raw materials, equipment and working capital while a US$ 100 million facility will be available for possible investments into other value chains.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to launch the combined US$ 300 million deal.
The conference theme is “Glocalise” meaning local companies should adapt to global trends.
“We are also small enough to be impacted by global events, in a way that can also be catastrophic, so it’s important for to also navigate through some of the global and continental developments and what they would mean for the Zimbabwean economy and also what they would mean for business, entrepreneurship and funding of new enterprises and for our innovation drive in the country,” said CZI chief executive officer, Sekai Kuvarika.
Lack of lines of credit in foreign currency has hampered production in the local manufacturing industry which is struggling to be competitive due to antiquated machinery which needs to be replaced.
The RBZ-run foreign currency auction system has not been adequately funded to meet industry’s needs hence companies have struggled to gather sufficient foreign currency to retool.
One of the key highlights of the congress will be the delegation from Nivesal in Singapore and they are here for the small and medium sized manufacturers in search of solutions.
Also topical will be the geo-economics and politics from the Ukraine crisis which has had a knock-on effect on global price hikes.
