We’re showcasing the new normal for business

THE Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) Company will next week host the ZITF, the country’s most reputable, multi-sectoral trade exhibition, internationally-recognised and acclaimed as one of the leading trade showcases in the Southern African region. As the fair roars to life in Bulawayo, The Financial Gazette’s Companies and Markets Editor, Adelaide Moyo (AM) spoke to ZITF chief executive, Nicholas Ndebele (NN), on a range of issues. Below are excerpts of the interview.

AM: Your appointment at ZITF came amid conferencing restrictions, how challenging has been your role given the Covid-19 regulations?

ZITF chief executive, Nicholas Ndebele

NN: After the devastation wrought by the pandemic on world economies, we have navigated the most tumultuous and simultaneously exciting period of the ZITF company history by ensuring business survival and sustainable continuity to date, despite unrelenting and highly disruptive headwinds stemming from the pandemic and the attendant knock-on effects. The outbreak of the pandemic has had as profound and unprecedented an impact on the business events industry at large and, the Meeting Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sub-sectors, as it has on commerce and society at large.

We were inevitably hit hard in terms of cash flows but we shifted focus to the future. I am privileged to lead a team of commercially astute and passionate professionals supported by a Board of Directors made up of seasoned and focused business leaders.

We did not tarry to mourn or indulge in some such pity party stuff. We rolled up our sleeves and went to work. We quickly evaluated the damage inflicted and posed by this unprecedented disruption on the business and re-strategised based on identified emerging opportunities to be exploited to secure business survival, recovery and sustainable continuity. Notably, we crafted a Business Recovery and Continuity Tactical Plan (BRCTP) anchored on reconfiguring and leveraging our real estate. Consequently, assets such as exhibition halls were converted to temporary bulk storage and warehousing facilities. Additionally, to tap into opportunities emerging from a need for sitting arrangements that allowed for social distancing protocols, we leveraged our real estate by availing the Zimbabwe International Exhibitions Centre (ZIEC) as a safe facility for examinations for colleges, universities, external examination bodies, and meetings, trainings and conferences for government departments, non-governmental organisations and religious groups.

So, as we reopen the exhibition floors in a safe and responsible way, we believe that the ZITF platform is a vital cog in contributing to a return to normalcy and stability in business, industry and the national economy. ZITF is the fastest fast track to recovery for business and the economy in general because trade shows develop business capabilities to cope and thrive across a range of futures.

AM: What objectives do you wish to achieve during your tenure?

NN: I believe that my contribution as CEO is to be intentional and purposeful in steering this iconic institution towards our strategic goals. This entails proactively sharing the vision and views through robust and progressive interactions with stakeholders. So, my appointment presents an opportunity for me to superintend over the transformation of ZITF Company into a business for the future in addition to growing the influence and impact of its various platforms and assets passed on over many years.

My priority is to ensure that the ZITF Company, as the industry leader, steps forward and demonstrates that business events can reopen in a safe and responsible manner notwithstanding the devastation and disruption wrought by the pandemic. This is in line with the charge we have been given by the company Board to reposition and transform the business to secure its survival and sustainable continuity.

Secondly, Covid-19 pandemic has foregrounded the need for business resilience not only in the MICE industry but across all economic sectors. While we are excited about our digital transformation journey there is still enough runway to accelerate our drive.

This is extremely important because our desire is to elevate our value proposition and respond to evolving needs and expectations of our current and potential clients. For instance, as an exhibition organiser, we recognise that technologies such as the likes of Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven match-making engines, big data, and the internet-of-things have emerged and are here to stay and support face-to-face business events. ZITF 2021 has piloted a hybrid format, where the virtual element complements the physical for both the exhibition and concurrent conferences. Our vision is to place the customer, instead of the product, at the core of our business. So, the future is innovation!

The Covid-19 has amplified the importance of building reliance in preparation for different futures at both micro and macro-economic levels. Quite frankly, no one anticipated the level of human and economic toll that has been fashioned by this pandemic. Now more than ever, it is imperative to drive SME development as this market segment was disproportionately hit by the disruption occasioned by the pandemic. Our platforms and events will seek to help SMEs to rebuild, strengthen their businesses and drive geographic expansion, ultimately growing local economies.

The universality of the current crisis demands value chain development and a wide collaboration among different sectors. Covid-19 reminded us that trade and value chains can be easily upended when borders are closed to suppress cross-border transmission of a pandemic.

God forbid but I don’t think this is the last virus that the world is going to have to confront.

There is need for development and domestication of value chains. We need to build resilient value chains and stakeholder relations. For instance, the MICE pyramid (e.g., business events organisers, airlines and hotels) should complement each other in attracting business events to Bulawayo. It is a simple existential issue!!

At a micro-level we need to remodel ZITF Company exhibitions — increase sector specific events and/or focus on certain particular value chains each year, say the Health Sector or Leather Sector. We then attract hosted buyers be they local or international for those sectors. This would allow for tracking of exhibition contribution to individual sector growth outcomes.

We need to invest in modern facilities to attract more international participation and conferences.

This could be realised through forging both public and private sector partnerships towards infrastructure modernisation.

AM: This year’s ZITF event has been postponed on several occasions. How did this affect planning for the upcoming event?

NN: One of the poignant lessons we have learnt since the advent of the global pandemic is that organizing and hosting a show as big as ZITF is a game of constant readjustments. We have had to respond to the threats and opportunities posed by the pandemic as well as changing interventions by the authorities to stem the spread of this pandemic such as postponing the show. Such a decision as postponing a tradeshow is never taken lightly because it is immensely disruptive and costly. Imagine a hotel that has large stocks of yoghurt for the show and you inform them that you are deferring that show!

So exhibitors, service providers, in fact the entire MICE ecosystem has had to adjust in one form or the other which has naturally affected their planning particularly budgeting. But everyone understood the situation as we have had to strengthen our collaboration mechanisms to ensure that we were aligned in our planning. I sincerely thank them for their patience.

AM: What lessons have you drawn from last year’s ZITF edition? What do you hope will be the outcome of this year’s ZITF edition?

NN: The 2019 edition of the ZITF is hardly comparable to this year’s show in terms of planning for both ourselves as events organisers and our exhibitors, visitors and stakeholders. Very few sectors have been spared from the disruptions imposed by the pandemic. Many are still counting the costs while others are on a rebound. Despite such constraints, this year’s show is poised to be a resounding success because over 350 traditional and new exhibitors have committed to participate in this year’s show including 10 countries. They cannot pass on the opportunity to learn from their colleagues who have ‘skin in the game’ e.g., innovators, competitors and value chain actors. That is a good story to tell. We are excited to welcome them at the home of exhibitions which is already a hive of activity as they finalise their stand preparations ahead of the start of the show next week.

AM: How challenging has it been to run the ZITF company, in a city hit hard by the harsh economic environment coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic?

NN: Despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic, we are a team of professionals that does not indulge in self-pity. Our mantra is Execution, Execution and Execution. We strive for quality which is why we are the only ISO-Certified exhibitions organiser in the country. However, we do not allow perfection to stand in the way of good enough. This is the team that is at the core of organising ZITF 2021 which, fortunately, will be held in the middle of an extraordinary vaccine roll-out program to subdue this pandemic. In parallel, a platitude of rapid tests has been licensed and rolled out around the world, allowing for daily testing where needed and useful to fully reopen up economies for uninterrupted economic activities. So, the road to recovery is under construction –brick by brick. Just like most economic sectors, the global Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) industry, of which Exhibitions are a sub-sector, is recovering from immensely challenging headwinds arising directly from the Covid-19 pandemic and indirectly due to the impact of national state-level lockdowns which brought about travel restrictions on both domestic and foreign travellers. We took the punch in the chin and focused on the future.

AM: In your view, what can be done to help restore Bulawayo’s industrial competitiveness?

NN: The future of Bulawayo is bright. The city has great potential for an economic performance upswing particularly on the back of a projected good rain season and the current infrastructural investments to secure water and power supplies. For instance, we need to exploit the opportunities that the National Zambezi Water Project will bring for Bulawayo and the nation. As business leadership, we need to position ourselves to exploit those opportunities and contribute significantly to Vision 2030. Of course, any company which is committed to seeing meaningful levels of growth and reach needs to leverage platforms such as the ZITF to showcase their offerings.

AM: With regards to the quality of exhibitions this year, what’s your expectations with regards to quality?

NN: Our theme is “Showcasing the New Normal for Business & Industry: Realities and Opportunities”. We anticipate a highly focused show. Under the National Development Strategy (NDS1), a digital economy is one of the 14 underpinning national priorities for the period 2021-2021. We are excited that this year’s show will amplify business best practice adopted and strengthened during this pandemic. This will not only allow industry and commerce to showcase what new products and systems they have adopted but also encourage industry and commerce to do things differently. Additionally, businesses would leverage the platform to find leads, network and collaborate which will help them develop and move up the value chain particularly as they gear up for opportunities and competition presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) treaty.

AM: As the premier trade exhibition in the country’s economic and events calendar, what unique offering is the ZITF providing for local companies?

NN: Firstly, we wish to assure the nation that the business events industry can open in a responsible, controlled and safe way. We have rigorous safety and risk management guidelines that will be enforced with requisite firmness and sensitivity for the safety of all. We have shared these guidelines with our exhibitors.

AM: In your interactions with foreign exhibitors, what is their assessment of Zimbabwe’s image as an investment destination?

NN: Foreign exhibitors are excited by the abundant opportunities in the country. Mining, Agriculture, Tourism, Manufacturing have particularly been cited as areas with immense potential for investment. The government has been trumpeting economic diplomacy to promote trade and investment. This is why in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) we have conceived the inaugural ZITF Diplomats Forum which is set to provide a tripartite discussion forum for the Zimbabwe government, business leadership, and foreign investors – represented by foreign delegations participating and foreign diplomatic missions based in Zimbabwe.