Executive Officer of Small and Medium Entreprises Association of Zimbabwe (SMEAZ) Farai Mtambanengwe has said that the Zimbabwean industry, which is being encouraged to focus on exportation, is however not export-oriented.
The Executive officer said that their mindset in the industrial sector is to own the Zimbabwean business terrain.
“Our mindset has to shift to one of looking at the bigger picture, one of looking at the regional picture, looking at continental picture, as well as the global picture,” Mtambanengwe said.
“We have to build businesses that are built not just for Zimbabwe, but that are built for the world at large.”
Mtambanengwe went on to say that most Zimbabwean companies are reluctant to even venture into exports as they are focused on trying to fulfil the domestic demand.
“That kind of thinking does not work anymore infact it ever worked but going forward its even less likely to work,” the exercutive officer continued.
” I also think that our efforts, our attempts to move into these bigger markets have to be coordinated. If you look at South Africa, which is doing well, most of what they do is they set up retail stores, in the different countries especially within the region, they set up retail stores and then they stock them with their products.”
The Zimbabwean government has been calling and encouraging its producers to export their products in order to bring in foreign currency into a country that is currently facing cash challenges in a dollarized economy.
Although there is a call for exportation to boost foreign currency, Zimbabwean products have been said to be expensive thereby becoming less competitive.
The country’s industrial sector is also being said to be using old machinery products that result in less quantity and low-quality products.