Staff Reporter
Zimbabwe launched a Brand Zimbabwe Project yesterday, in an effort to rebuild and restore confidence within and outside the country.
In her opening remarks, Minister of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa said that Branding Zimbabwe was a collective responsibility that required everyone in the country.
“Branding Zimbabwe is a collective responsibility. It is highly challenging as it requires the coming together of every one of us. We should take a deep dive into our consciousness; reflect deeply on what divides us and what can strengthen our unity. It is through the realization of the power and the strength we carry together that we can transform our country forever.
“We are not doing this for anybody else. We are doing this for ourselves, and for posterity, because we believe it is the right thing to do. This is a moment to ask ourselves and ultimately define who we truly are,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
Minister Mutsvangwa stated that at one point Zimbabwe was well known for being the breadbasket of Africa and also renowned for growing top-quality flue cured tobacco and that this contributes toward brand Zimbabwe.
“You will all recall that at some stage in the history of our country, we were renowned for our agricultural prowess and food security, hence we attained the status of the Breadbasket of Southern Africa. We were also renowned for our top-quality tobacco that the world descended on our auction floors to buy the leaf considered great for cigarette manufacturing because of its flavor.
“I am throwing all this so that we begin to brainstorm; we begin to think of what we want to be known for, the identity we want the world to know us for. It is that unique selling point that we want to come up with at the end of the process,” she said.
Government has contracted a consultancy firm that would facilitate the process of Brand Zimbabwe. The firm is known as AGOS Consultants and was given blessings by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to carry out the preliminary works for the National Brand Development Exercise.
