ZIMBABWE is targeting US$50 million worth of deals at the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025), which begins today, the country’s trade development and promotion body has said, amid a growing appetite for the country’s products across the continent.
IATF is the continent’s largest trade fair and the fourth edition of the biennial event runs from today until September 10 in Algiers, Algeria.
A total of 35 Zimbabwean companies will exhibit their products and services at IATF2025, ZimTrade’s chief executive officer, Allan Majuru, told NewsDay.
“Twenty-five companies are exhibiting physically, but the exhibition will include some companies that have products on display.
“Overall, 35 companies are exhibiting their products and services at this year’s IATF,” Majuru said, adding that 18 will be exhibiting at IATF for the first time.
He said Zimbabwe’s participation “reflected its diverse economic base and export potential, with companies representing a wide spectrum of industries, including fast-moving consumer goods, leather, agriculture, services and artisans”.
“The breadth of representation showcases Zimbabwe’s ability to compete across multiple sectors and its ambition to expand its presence in regional and international markets,” Majuru said.
To spice it up for Zimbabwe, IATF2025 will feature a Zimbabwe-Algeria Business Forum, a key plank in cementing the diplomatic and economic co-operation between the two countries, according to ZimTrade.
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President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited Algeria in July to seek deeper ties with the North African nation, which assisted the country in its struggle for independence.
This culminated in the joint business council at the fourth session of the Algeria-Zimbabwe Joint Co-operation Commission.
“This joint business council is designed to enhance collaboration, foster closer ties between economic operators and reform trade exchange mechanisms,” ZimTrade said.
The focus is on leveraging on the continental free trade agreement to boost bilateral trade and position Zimbabwe as a potential industrial and logistics hub for Algerian companies in southern Africa, it said.
Majuru said the participation of Zimbabwean companies at IATF was a strategic move as it provided the country with an opportunity to strengthen its export base, attract investments and promote tourism under the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
AfCFTA is the world’s largest trading bloc and provides a market for a population of over 1,4 billion and a GDP of over US$3 trillion.
It is estimated that US$44 billion in trade deals will be executed at this year’s IATF, up from US$43 billion at the previous edition in 2023.
IATF2025 is co-organised by Afreximbank, the African Union Commission, the AfCFTA Secretariat and Algeria to boost intra-Africa trade.
