THE People's Own Savings Bank (POSB) will Thursday host the third edition of its annual Exporters Seminar, reaffirming its commitment to supporting productive sectors and helping Zimbabwean businesses boost their participation in regional and international trade.
This year's seminar, themed "Accessible Export Finance: Powering Businesses Beyond Borders," will address critical topics such as export financing, accessing new markets, and credit guarantees, among other export-related matters.
The event brings together exporters, policymakers, regulators, financial institutions, trade development organisations, and other stakeholders to discuss opportunities and challenges within Zimbabwe's export sector and to identify practical solutions to support export growth.
POSB Chief Executive Officer, Garainashe Changunda emphasized the seminar's value as a platform for stakeholders throughout the export ecosystem to share knowledge, build partnerships, and help Zimbabwean businesses access regional and international markets.
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"As POSB, we believe Zimbabwe has immense export potential across agriculture, horticulture, mining, manufacturing, tourism and services. This potential is not limited to large corporations. It extends to the small-holder farmer supplying a regional buyer, the SME producing a specialised product, the manufacturer seeking to expand capacity and the young entrepreneur using technology to sell services beyond our borders.
"However, what often stands between a good opportunity and a completed export transaction is access to the right finance, market information and practical guidance," said Changunda.
The seminar supports the objectives of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), which recognises exports as a vital source of foreign currency, employment, industrialisation, and economic growth. NDS2 aims to increase the contribution of manufactured and value-added products to total exports from 5.5% in 2025 to 18.4% by 2030, alongside targets for export growth of 10% and value-added export growth of 15%.
Discussions will focus on access to export finance, regional and global market opportunities, foreign-currency support, export competitiveness, credit insurance, customs processes, trade compliance, and opportunities within agricultural and other export value chains.
Key speakers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Afreximbank, ZimTrade, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of Zimbabwe, the National Competitiveness Commission, the Agricultural Marketing Authority, and the Horticultural Development Council will share their expertise.
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In line with the seminar's theme, POSB will share information on financing solutions available to businesses involved in international trade.
These include a US$10 million line of credit from Afreximbank to support qualifying SMEs operating in export value chains and a separate US10 million line of credit from Afreximbank to support qualifying SMEs operating in export value chains and a separate US10 million trade finance facility supporting qualifying import, export, and other trade-related transactions through instruments such as Letters of Credit and international guarantees.
These facilities complement POSB's existing pre-shipment, post-shipment, working-capital, and asset-finance solutions. Exporters can also access multi-currency and FCA export accounts, telegraphic transfers, export-document administration, exchange-control advisory services, international guarantees, and documentary collections.
The Exporters Seminar forms part of POSB's ongoing commitment to supporting productive sectors and helping Zimbabwean businesses increase their participation in regional and international trade.
