Michael Tome Business Reporter

ZimTrade says it has partnered with Senior Experten Services (SES) of Germany to give impetus to the development of youth-led businesses with special focus on sharpening their export readiness.

The initiative is aimed at nurturing the capacity and competitiveness of youth-owned enterprises in the country to give them the ability to match or surpass competitors’ performance in the region and beyond.

It will also be bent on creating linkages to various local and international markets.

The partnership with the Germany-based voluntary assistance organisation will help provide the necessary expertise across key sectors of the economy covering areas like engineering, pharmaceuticals, clothing and textiles, fashion and design, education, packaging, webinar services, ­financial services, and processed foods.

SES has over 12 000 specialists and since the signing of the initial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ZimTrade in 2017, it has completed over 50 missions in the country through senior German experts.

During a meeting held recently between ZimTrade and SES in Germany, the two parties agreed to extend the SES-run “Team Works” programme to young Zimbabwean entrepreneurs.

Team Works, is a Young Expert Exchange programme meant for supporting professionals fond of sustainable development.

The “Team Works” provides young professionals and trainees from Germany the opportunity to support enterprises in Zimbabwe, engendering inclusive participation in national economic activities, particularly in young people.

Simultaneously, Team Works allows young experts from African countries to volunteer in German enterprises.

 “The exciting programme will ensure that young people are capacitated and are able to create sustainable and well-developed export enterprises that will guarantee the future success of their business.

“Working closely with partners in developed countries will make it easy for Zimbabwe’s young people to benchmark their products with international standards, as well as adopt modern business trends,” said Mr Allan Majuru, ZimTrade chief executive.

The programme focuses on specialised professionals from Germany aged 18 – 30 and participants in the programme will be working on issues that focus on at least one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Similarly, in 2020 ZimTrade launched its youth export incubation programme codenamed Eagles’ Nest whose overall goal was to develop youth-led small businesses into export-ready companies.

“Adding on the Eagles’ Nest Youth Export Incubation programme, the “Team works” initiative will further improve capacities of our youth-led enterprises,” he said.      

The Eagle’s Nest youth export incubator initiative is designed to help young exporters through the provision of a platform that allows them to pitch business ideas, mentorship as well as operational support.  

 Selected youth-led businesses in the programme receive mentorship from the ZimTrade associate trainers that assist the enterprises to export their products or services on an ongoing basis.

It provides the opportunity for young African people to carry out a one-month work experience placement within a German company.

According to the World Trade Organisation, 4 percent of the world’s entrepreneurs are between the ages of 18 -35, and in Zimbabwe, most SMEs are led by young people who are increasingly showing interest in various business ventures.