{"id":116470,"date":"2026-04-17T21:25:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zitf-2026-readiness-hits-97-as-exhibitor-demand-surges"},"modified":"2026-04-17T23:55:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T21:55:27","slug":"zitf-2026-readiness-hits-97-as-exhibitor-demand-surges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zitf-2026-readiness-hits-97-as-exhibitor-demand-surges","title":{"rendered":"ZITF 2026 readiness hits 97% as exhibitor demand surges"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>BULAWAYO, Apr. 17 (NewsDay Live) \u2013 Preparations for the 66th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) are nearing completion, with organisers reporting a 97% readiness level amid strong exhibitor uptake and rising business interest.<\/p>\n<p>Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company board chairman Busisa Moyo said the event has entered its final execution phase, with focus now on coordination, quality assurance and delivery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are pleased to report that preparations are on track, with all critical operational, commercial and infrastructure workstreams firmly in place,\u201d Moyo told journalists.<\/p>\n<p>Exhibition space uptake has reached 97%, with 49,810 square metres booked out of 51,170 square metres available, reflecting robust demand from both local and international participants.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis strong uptake reflects a high level of confidence in this year\u2019s edition of the Trade Fair,\u201d Moyo said.<\/p>\n<p>Business visitor registrations have also risen sharply to 10,472, up from 8,142 recorded during the same period last year, signalling increased engagement from the corporate sector.<\/p>\n<p>The exhibitor mix remains broad-based, with government accounting for 42% of allocated space and the private sector taking up 58%. Permanent exhibition halls are nearly fully subscribed, with organisers adding a purpose-built marquee to accommodate overflow demand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a clear indicator of sustained market confidence in the ZITF platform,\u201d Moyo said.<\/p>\n<p>ZITF Company chief executive officer Nicholas Ndebele said the organisation is ready to deliver a high-quality event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe remain committed to delivering a world-class exhibition that meets the expectations of our stakeholders and partners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>A total of 485 direct exhibitors, including 100 leaseholders, have confirmed participation, while international interest remains firm, with 46 exhibitors from 29 countries registered.<\/p>\n<p>Organisers said all major conferences and networking platforms are in place ahead of the showcase, including a curtain-raising 100-mile cycling event in partnership with the Flying Eagles Cycling Club.<\/p>\n<p>Moyo said the Rural Industrialisation Conference would be a key highlight, shifting focus from policy dialogue to implementation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a flagship empowerment platform designed to transition communities from peripheral participants to equity holders in industrial value chains,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The annual ZITF, held in Bulawayo, is one of Zimbabwe\u2019s premier trade and investment events, drawing exhibitors and delegates from across the region and beyond.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Zimbabwe<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Zimbabwe. BULAWAYO, Apr. 17 (NewsDay Live) \u2013 Preparations for the 66th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) are nearing completion, with organisers reporting a 97% readiness level amid strong exhibitor uptake and rising business interest. Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company board chairman Busisa Moyo said the event has entered its final [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":116469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-116470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>ZITF 2026 readiness hits 97% as exhibitor demand surges - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"BULAWAYO, Apr. 17 (NewsDay Live) \u2013 Preparations for the 66th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) are ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zitf-2026-readiness-hits-97-as-exhibitor-demand-surges\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ZITF 2026 readiness hits 97% as exhibitor demand surges\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BULAWAYO, Apr. 17 (NewsDay Live) \u2013 Preparations for the 66th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) are ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zitf-2026-readiness-hits-97-as-exhibitor-demand-surges\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-17T19:25:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-17T21:55:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776462844.19754.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"797\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"549\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zitf-2026-readiness-hits-97-as-exhibitor-demand-surges#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zitf-2026-readiness-hits-97-as-exhibitor-demand-surges\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"ZITF 2026 readiness hits 97% as exhibitor demand surges\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-17T19:25:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-17T21:55:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zitf-2026-readiness-hits-97-as-exhibitor-demand-surges\"},\"wordCount\":371,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zitf-2026-readiness-hits-97-as-exhibitor-demand-surges#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776462844.19754.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Zimbabwe\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zitf-2026-readiness-hits-97-as-exhibitor-demand-surges#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zitf-2026-readiness-hits-97-as-exhibitor-demand-surges\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zitf-2026-readiness-hits-97-as-exhibitor-demand-surges\",\"name\":\"ZITF 2026 readiness hits 97% as exhibitor demand surges - 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