Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. ZIMBABWEAN companies will exhibit at Namibia’s premier Windhoek Agricultural and Livestock Show (WALS) for a second consecutive year, the national trade agency ZimTrade said on Wednesday.
The event is scheduled for September 30 to 4 October 2025.
The WALS Show remains one of Namibia’s largest annual exhibitions, attracting more than 100 000 visitors, including buyers, government representatives, farmers, and consumers from across the region.
Its unique combination of a trade exhibition, cultural showcase, and livestock displays makes it an essential platform for countries seeking to access the Namibian market and the wider Southern African region.
Zimbabwe’s participation this year marks its fourth coordinated presence at WALS in recent years, demonstrating a sustained effort to build on the success of previous engagements.
Last year, the Zimbabwe pavilion attracted considerable foot traffic and generated positive interest in the quality of Zimbabwean products.
Exhibitors secured promising leads, held direct engagements with Namibian retailers, and established distribution contacts.
More importantly, the show provided invaluable market intelligence that informed this year’s strategy.
This intelligence highlighted sectors where Namibia’s import demand was high and where Zimbabwe could realistically supply competitively, setting the stage for a stronger and more targeted participation in 2025.
The ZimTrade chief executive officer, Allan Majuru, said Zimbabwe’s return to WALS is a deliberate move from exploration to execution.
“Last year laid a solid foundation by identifying key market entry points; this year, we are focused on closing tangible deals, securing long-term supply contracts, and significantly increasing Zimbabwe’s market share in high-demand sectors like processed foods and leather,” he said.
What makes WALS unique is not only the sheer size of the audience but also its regional reach.
The show attracts buyers and businesses from Namibia as well as neighbouring Angola, Botswana, and South Africa. This provides Zimbabwean exhibitors with a platform to access not just one market but several at once.
With ZimTrade coordinating business-to-business meetings and facilitating introductions to key distributors, the expectation is that this year’s participation will move beyond simply raising awareness to closing tangible deals and building long-term trade partnerships.
This year’s delegation is more diverse and sector-specific than last year’s exploratory group, comprising 13 companies across various sectors.
These include leather and footwear, agri-processing (such as honey, fruit spreads, and ice cream), horticultural inputs (like hydroponics), poultry, beverages (including gin and specialty drinks), and lifestyle products.
Leather producers from Bulawayo and Harare are expected to negotiate concrete supply agreements in a market where imports of leather goods continue to grow.
Food and beverage companies will showcase heritage-based products that resonate with Namibia’s demand for differentiated, high-quality goods.
Furthermore, poultry producers and hydroponics specialists will introduce technologies and livestock inputs that respond directly to Namibia’s emphasis on food security and sustainable farming practices.
Trade statistics from Trade Map reveal that Namibia imported goods worth US$8,8 billion in 2024, with processed foods, beverages, and agricultural equipment featuring prominently.
While Zimbabwe’s exports to Namibia in the same year were still modest in value terms, the alignment between Namibia’s import profile and Zimbabwe’s current export offerings highlights clear potential.
For example, imports of processed foods and beverages exceeded US$500 million, yet Zimbabwe’s footprint in that category remains small.
By positioning high-quality products like honey, fruit spreads, and specialty beverages through WALS, Zimbabwean SMEs have a real chance to capture a share of this significant demand.
Similarly, the growing imports of horticultural inputs create a direct pathway for hydroponic solutions to secure key buyers.
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