Trade development and promotion agency, ZimTrade, says it will help women-led export businesses secure patents and protect their intellectual property.
ZimTrade chief executive Allan Majuru made these remarks after the conclusion of the fourth edition of the NEXT She-Exporter programme, a programme designed to equip women-owned businesses with tools needed to penetrate international markets.
The programme focuses on technical capacity building, mentorship and global market linkages.
“The participants managed to get into regional markets to export. But as you\'ve heard, I think this year we managed to get about 12 companies to go to London, to exhibit and network with buyers.
“And that alone has opened a lot of markets for women entrepreneurs,” Majuru said.
“We now need to focus more on patenting our products and also intellectual property. And also making sure that they\'ve got the right systems and procedures, the codification for them to do the business.”
He said this was important because the program was focusing on heritage products which are a niche for Zimbabwe.
“We don\'t add chemicals to our products. What we produce is naturally organic so we are doing value addition to make sure that we export,” Majuru said.
“And we are making sure that we provide warehouses for our companies to make sure that our product is available in the market when needed.”
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Albert Chimbindi said the government was intensifying efforts to dismantle structural barriers that have historically excluded women from participating meaningfully in international commerce.
Since its launch in 2022, the initiative has empowered over 400 women entrepreneurs across key sectors including horticulture, food processing, clothing and textiles and sustainable crafts and crafts.
The programme targets businesses that are wholly female-owned or those with at least 51 percent female ownership, ensuring that women remain primary beneficiaries of export development opportunities.
Participants undergo a structured one-year training journey comprising 13 modules covering critical areas such as branding, financial management and digital marketing ,key pillars for building competitive export-ready enterprises.
