IBC to address critical issues

AT least 350 delegates will attend the 10th edition of the International Business Conference (IBC) in Bulawayo tomorrow with focus on optimising and leveraging on the country's resource base to create economic value.

The IBC is a major highlight of the annual Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), which starts today at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre and ends on Saturday.

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa will officially open the one day event under the theme, "Innovate-Integrate-Industrialise". IBC is hosted annually by the National Economic Consultative Forum (NECF).

"The conference will come up with a clear set of recommendations on how the country can optimise and leverage on its resources and assets so as to create economic value," said NECF in a statement.

"Discussions will be centred on the three main fundamentals that are innovation as a creator of competitive advantage for businesses and ultimately nations; regional integration and geography as the context for industrial development and economic prosperity and industrialisation as the champion of economic and technology transformation."

In line with the agenda of the economic blueprint, Zim-Asset, key objectives of the conference include engaging stakeholders in a policy dialogue on how Zimbabwe can optimise assets and natural resources to resuscitate and revitalise industries and create sustainable value-chains.

It is also hoped that the business forum will facilitate knowledge exchange on how businesses can survive and compete in the increasingly competitive global environment as well as offering solutions on how Zimbabwe can make the most out of the global value chains to implement its industrialisation agenda.

Delegates are also expected to deepen their engagement with foreign investors and outside markets to lead to growth outcomes that accelerate societal transformation as well as raising expectations and imperatives for further reform and structural change.

Delegates at the conference will include policy makers, captains of industry and commerce, and experts drawn from the government, business, academia, diplomatic corps and civil society to interact and debate themes on how to transform the country's economic assets.

NECF also said IBC's theme aptly captures the regional aspirations as enshrined in the Sadc Industrialisation Strategy and Road Map ratified in 2015.

The industrialisation strategy seeks to ensure that the bloc achieves some levels of parity in terms of industrialisation as well as ensuring that the region benefits from the sale of value added products.

"The theme also resonates well with Zim-Asset which calls for various economic players in the country to shift from reliance on export of commodities to export of manufactured goods through the resuscitation and revitalisation of industries as well as the creation of sustainable value-chains," said NECF.

Building on the 2015 focus, which was on "Seizing Opportunities to Accelerate Growth," the 2016 edition goes a step further to address the critical issues of innovation, industrialisation and regional integration.

"These are essential to increasing the wealth and employment creation for Zimbabwe. "The 2016 IBC is inspired by the economic policies of economic giants that include China and India that have benefited from technology linked industrialisation and economic integration," it said.