The Malawi Investment and Trade Centre stand at the SADC Industrialisation Week yesterday

Africa Moyo, Deputy News Editor

IT is a hive of activity at the 7th SADC Industrialisation Week, which entered its third day in Harare yesterday, with a number of local and international organisations participating. Upon arrival at the Rainbow Towers Hotel, venue of the SADC Industrialisation Week, one is welcomed by teardrop banners that fly all the way up to the entrance to the newly refurbished Harare International Conference Centre. There are exhibits from State-owned enterprises such as TelOne, NetOne, Zesa Holdings, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe to local authorities, some of them rural district councils. Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed companies such as Dairibord Holdings Limited are also there, as everyone is fighting for recognition with the hope of expanding their reach in the region and beyond. The fast-rising Victoria Falls Stock Exchange is also exhibiting, as it seeks to increase the number of listed companies from the present 13. Interestingly, top property developer, WestProp Holdings Limited, has a stand next to the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, where it is listed. Investment development agencies from Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania, among others, are participating. African financiers of industrialists such as the African Development Bank and the Afreximbank are also there. While the nomenclature suggests the Industrialisation Week is a regional event, international blocs such as the European Union are participating, indicating the global importance of boosting industrial capacity. ReadMore