Zimbabwe Commerce and Industry leaders reach out to the Diaspora on a three City USA Tour

WASHINGTON - March 25, 2013 - PRLog -- The tour begins  in Washington, DC, from the 16th  to the 20th of May, moves to Atlanta, Georgia from the 21st to the 22nd , ending at the 12th annual ZimExpo USA  in Dallas, Texas  from May 24 to May 27. The delegation includes the Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines, Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA), and Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), the Institute of People Management of Zimbabwe (IPMZ) as well as individual companies.

Since 2000 Zimbabwe has witnessed the largest and fastest brain drain on the African continent with an estimated 15% of all professionals said to have left the country.  This crippling flight of some of the country’s best brains has escalated to levels that have serious implications for economic growth and development.  In Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education came up with a number of initiatives aimed at turning brain drain into brain gain. The ZHC project aspires to develop, attract and retain Zimbabwe’s human capital for socio-economic development of the country.

Diaspora and home country engagements are more effective when there is consultation and dialoguing initiatives that can help with the creation of policy frameworks. There is a growing realization within the Diaspora that the ties that exist between the Diaspora and country of origin are not only a result of home government intervention, but also the creation of individuals and groups acting on their own initiative. Non-resident Zimbabweans in the Diaspora have started asking important questions on how to define their role and position themselves to be players in the events taking place inside Zimbabwe

“For most Diaspora Zimbabweans, however, there is currently a void in the provision of information for business and investment opportunities available inside Zimbabwe that could be utilized by Diaspora Zimbabweans and the business community all over the world.” ZBNI Managing Director Esau Mavindidze emphasized that need therefore exists for a concerted effort to link up potential investors to real time information on investment opportunities.

ZBNI and www.ZimbabweHumanCapital.org aim to initiate a series of annual events to inform, engage, and facilitate networking between skilled and professional Zimbabweans based in the USA, and Government, Human Resources Practitioners, Individual Companies and representative organizations in Commerce and Industry inside Zimbabwe. This engagement is intended to afford Zimbabweans based in the USA, an opportunity to get information on how they can meaningfully contribute to the socio-economic development of the country. This will be done by exposing existing employment and investment opportunities as well as the macro-economic environment prevalent in Zimbabwe.

For more information on participating at any of the forums during the tour, please email info@ZimbabweBusinessNet.com or info@ZimExpo.com.