Econet Wireless Zimbabwe made its presence felt at this year’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo with an impressive, modern, exhibition stand that wooed visitors to the Fair and drew large crowds to the stand.
The mobile telecoms company, whose stand was voted the best overall exhibition stand for the 2022 ZITF, was back in full tilt at the premier business event after taking a brief, COVID-19 enforced hiatus, and came tops among 500 other exhibitors from 14 countries to win the prestigious accolade.
Econet’s two-deck stand, complete with high-definition monitors, backlights and virtual reality platforms – which created a 360-degree view which afforded visitors the ultimate immersive experience – also hosted a variety of top local music artistes, including Thami Moyo, Djembe Monks and Enzo Ishall, to keep the crowds engaged and entertained.
Speaking at the stand during the Fair, Econet spokesperson Fungai Mandiveyi said the company took advantage of the Trade Fair to exhibit some its latest telecoms, media, digital and entertainment products and services, and to give its valued customers the opportunity to interact with and experience the products first hand.
“We are delighted that our customers, both existing and prospective, have the perfect opportunity here to interact with and have an immersive experience of our products and services. We are also here to afford them a unique, one-on-one chance to give us their direct feedback regarding our products,” said Mandiveyi, the company’s Media and Corporate Communications Executive.
The company’s products and services on show included corporate and consumer products.
One corporate service on exhibition was Econet Business Solutions, which offers business and enterprise clients Machine to Machine (M2) solutions using technology that makes use of Econet’s data and other network resources to communicate, monitor and analyse business data remotely and in real time.
“The M2M solution provides services to various sectors, including banking, security, fleet management, vehicle tracking, fiscal devices and smart metering,” Mandiveyi said.
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Econet also had a fully functional Econet Shop on their stand which, among other products, was selling its recently launched ‘USD Smart Bundles’.
Mandiveyi said the Smart Bundles were “a big hit” with visitors to the stand, sold in denominations of as little as US$0.50, up to US$10. The bundles allow customers to purchase airtime, data and SMS products in US dollars and can also be purchased using the EcoCash US dollar wallet.
Econet’s Buddie Beatz section was one of the most popular and crowed parts of the company’s huge stand, especially with young adults and among the young at heart, who danced to the beat of various live artistes at the stand.
Econet’s Buddie Beatz Music App, a pioneer of music streaming services in Zimbabwe, now has close to 50,000 songs and more than 4,000 artists available on the platform.
The Buddie Beatz platform is accessible to anyone on any network locally and across the world, and brings the best in Afro and International music. The music content available cuts across various age groups, giving choice and variety to customers.
The Econet stand also displayed YoMix, a Do-It-Yourself bundle purchase application that empowers customers to ‘mix and bundle’ Voice, Data, SMS and other services, on the go.
“With over 1.2 million registered customers, YoMix offers customers the option to buy bundles for friends, family and loved ones (YoMix gifting) and to buy bundles on credit (Airtime Credit) among its many functionalities,” Mandiveyi said.
Mobile Gaming, which has emerged as one of the world’s key sources of entertainment in the digital era, was also featured on the Econet stand. The company launched the gaming service a couple of year ago, and has never looked back.
The gaming platforms offer over 4,500 games at the moment, that are under the YoPlay and YoGamez brands. Categorised as virtual reality, most people visiting the Econet stand could not get enough of racing, action and adventure games on the platforms, which suit different demographics.
The Econet stand also offered visitors the opportunity to register for the popular, upcoming Econet Victoria Falls Marathon, scheduled for July 3, 2022 in the iconic resort town in the north-west of the country. A ‘must-go’ on the calendar of every avid runner, the Econet Victoria Falls Marathon – which drew over 4,000 runners at the last event – is expected to draw thousands of visitors and tourists from across the world to Zimbabwe.
Econet’s also showcased its social and community development impact, through the work done by its philanthropic partner, Higherlife Foundation. The Foundation gave visitors some insights on its work, which is anchored on the pillars of Education, Health, Rural Transformation and Sustainable Livelihoods, and Disaster Relief and Preparedness, have been impacting lives. Highlerlife Foundation has through its education programmes, impacted over 250,000 young people over the years.
Earlier, Econet hosted a 5G launch event at its stand, where it announced the extension of its 5G network to the second city of Bulawayo.
The event was attended by senior representatives from the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), Econet’s 5G technology partner in the southern region, ZTE, the Trade Fair Company of Zimbabwe, and its top customers and suppliers, among others guests.
