Buy Zimbabwe partners agree to form buy local network

Partners of the Buy Zimbabwe Campaign including some of the country's leading businesses concurred to forming a network of local companies that buy from each other during a Buy Zimbabwe Cocktail and networking event held at the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (S.A.Z) offices.

More than 60 executives and business representatives representing Turnall, Willowvale, Lyons, Schweppes, TN, Obel, Olivine, Kango, Tanganda, National Foods and Capri all agreed that it was critical for local businesses to lead the process of buying Zimbabwe by creating a spider web of local companies that buy from each.

Unaiswa Nleya, Marketing Manager at Schweppes (Pvt) Ltd highlighted to the gathering that her company was rekindling its relationship with one of its major local suppliers Surface Investments (Pvt) Ltd as a matter of urgency. She attributed the low trade between local companies to the general lack of accurate information on local businesses operating in the country.

Mr. Eddie Kondo, Marketing Director at Turnall Holdings emphasized the importance of high quality standards for local companies to start buying from each. He said that buying from each other should be able to make sense as local companies will be providing high quality products that carry the Standards Association of Zimbabwe mark. He added that for them this mark is considered to be the most important sign of providing quality products locally, regionally and globally and thus made them competitive by any standards.

The Marketing professionals from a number of local organisations that are Buy Zimbabwe partners also agreed that it was important for them to be part of the shaping and supporting the promotional initiatives that are part of the Buy Zimbabwe Campaign and to also work together on a number of promotional activities so as to reduce the inhibitive costs of promoting their brands.