Mine Entra‘s Buyers-Sellers Programme has been hailed as a crucial platform that exposes small-scale miners to new markets, suppliers, and professional business practices within the mining sector, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Ryan Chigoche
The Buyers’ Programme is an initiative by the ZITF Company designed to directly connect mining companies’ procurement managers and decision-makers with mining and engineering suppliers.
Introduced in 2024 and prominently featured in 2025, this hybrid platform combines online and in-person interactions to facilitate scheduled, targeted meetings, strengthening business partnerships and supporting growth across the mining sector’s supply chain.
Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe on the sidelines of the ongoing Mine Entra in Bulawayo, Payne Kupfuwa, CEO of the Young Miners Foundation, said the programme not only exposed miners to international suppliers but also advanced efforts to formalize small-scale mining.
“The Buyers-Sellers Programme is quite impressive because it gave us an opportunity to actually get to know some products that we didn’t know were in the market. We also didn’t know that there are some suppliers who have come in from other countries to be part of Mine Entra,” Kupfuwa said.
“And as young miners, it goes a long way for us because, in our bid to formalize and professionalize small-scale mining, we are saying mining should always be taken as a business, not as a poverty-driven initiative or a get-rich-quick scheme. So such platforms, of course, give us an opportunity to network and establish ourselves as formalized and full-fledged mining entrepreneurs.”
Kupfuwa explained that beyond networking, the programme directly supports the implementation of mining projects. For his team, Mine Entra has become a hub to source affordable equipment and services needed for expanding operations.
“We are setting up a chrome processing plant in Mvurwi and are also working towards establishing a gold processing plant,” he said.
“But the Buyers-Sellers Programme has created a platform for us to actually get cheaper, more affordable services and equipment for everything that we are setting up. We are very optimistic and look forward to a beautiful and exciting Mine Entra 2025.”
Kupfuwa added that continued engagement through the programme will allow young miners to establish themselves fully in the sector while accessing resources that were previously out of reach.
The 28th edition of Mine Entra kicked off successfully, completing its first-day programmes at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre in Bulawayo. The event has attracted 240 confirmed exhibitors, including 16 international participants from China, India, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Exhibitors span a broad cross-section of the mining value chain, including heavy and light equipment suppliers, engineering firms, green technology providers, logistics operators, and financial service institutions.
Day one featured the AfriConfex Conference and Official Opening, headlined by Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona, alongside the Buyers’ Programme Speed Networking Session.
The session brought together mining houses such as Zimasco, Unki Mine, Hwange Colliery Company, and Blanket Mine with local and international suppliers.
Tomorrow’s highlights will include the Mine Entra Conference and Official Opening Ceremony, the Mining Industry Suppliers Forum hosted by the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, and a seminar on ESG and sustainability featuring leading industry experts and panelists.
