Diaspora Matters

How much does it cost to set up your own small hotel? In the past the costs were quite huge but thanks to technology, the graph of costs keeps going down. In the past you needed bricks and mortar running from several thousands to millions dollars but not now.

A motel in Juliasdale in the Eastern Highlands has 7 tent domes and doing extremely well. The dome tents– a relatively new phenomenon in Zimbabwe but with time we hope to see more especially in the Eastern Highlands and other areas such as Harare and Bulawayo.

To those old enough they should have fond memories of the former Detema Safari Lodge outside Hwange which used to be the number 1 spot for tourists at the turn of the century. It was made up purely of trees and thatched grasses with the tree houses one of the best on the continent.

We do not know what happened to Detema Safari Lodge and also why the concept was not widely adopted.

Back to Dome Tents,

Source of Dome Tents=China.

All you need is land enough to set up between 10 and 15 domes with enough space between them to allow for privacy of visitors. The land can be along the shores of lakes such as Lake Mutirikwi, Lake Chivero, Lake Darwendale and Mazvikadei. There is plenty of land for lease by the National Parks Authority. Some years back Lake Chivero had a caravan park located next to Harare Safari Lodge which was quite popular but later on closed under unclear circumstances. This helps confirms that the concept has worked before.

One can even opt for land along our highways such as Harare-Mutare, Harare –Bulawayo, Harare-Mutoko, Mutare-Bulawayo and others.

Location can even be outside small towns such as Mvuma, Chivhu, Mutoko, Mrewa, Gwanda, Karoi and others.

Build Ons,

• Green Designs: Do not disturb the natural landscape by senselessly chopping down trees but rather incorporate nature into your designs.
• Security: Secure your land with fence—preferably razor wire or electric fence.
• The domes will need decks and one can use concrete or wood
• Build a reception area with good parking space.
• Build bathrooms for each tent, have private parking space for visitors.
• Build a dining room and laundry room.
• Recruit and train competent staff to manage your business. It would be better if the owner stays on the premises or somewhere nearby.

Your targeted clients will be international tourists and local tourists with a good eye and taste buds for finer things in life. If located outside town, then the place should be visible from the highway or closer to the highway.

The dome tents generally do not need much maintenance and care and can last for more than 5 years.

Risks: If you are leasing the land, once clients start flocking in, your rentals will increase with the landowner not factoring in that it’s a long way before you break even and start making profits! The land owner may even chase you away and grab the business.

This is not a get rich quick type of business as it requires patience and a long term vision. The premises need to be neat and services provided world class. With time value increases with possibilities for expansion or even opening in new places.

So all the best and kindly share feedback once done.

You can afford to forget thousands of posts we have shared with the forum but not this one—enable others to make money!

This is the trending business model which is fast changing the lives of locals and foreigners investing in Zimbabwe. Interestingly the model is even reflected on our stock exchange where blue chip companies are using the model in one or the other.

Fastest Business Launches

Varum launched Pepsi launched in Zimbabwe a few years ago but quickly gained acceptance and now well established. Why? It is because they identified a key market—vendors and incorporated them in their business model. Of course they also included major retail shops but enabling street vendors played a huge role in fast establishing their brand.

MetroPeech Wholesalers established a new branch in Sunningdale along the Seke Road last year but the centre did not take long before traffic clogged their driveways. MetroPeech deals with small businesses who are interested in making money!

Stock Exchange Counters

The biggest company by capitalisation on the stock exchange is Econet is we incorporate Cassava. Traditionally their clients were those interested in communication. However with Zimbabwe being home to the second largest informal economy on earth, most business owners interested in making money using their data for business! Ecocash ran into trouble with authorities when enabling others to make money ran out of control.

The Delta counter clearly also takes advantage of the model through targeting thousands of shop and bottle store owners.

Forum Experiences

When we formed our crowdfunding company of mealie meal production, our initial plan was of supplying our products to big retail shops—however we ran into gremlins as big retailers rarely accept start-ups. End of story? Not at all as we discovered that we could partner with tuckshops and by enabling to make money, our market access challenges were sorted!

Imports

The most imported vehicles in Zimbabwe are Honda Fits, Toyota Noah and Wish. These are the cars that dominate our landscape and why? They enable others to make money! So those supplying service kits need not look any further than cars that give others money.

Plastics importation has shot up over the years because they are being used to make plastic tanks and hospepipes—key money making inputs for those interested in making money in agriculture!

Borehole drilling equipment also became popular for investors interested in making farming income.

Network Marketing

Perhaps credited with popularizing the enable others to make money business model. Top brands such as Avon, Super life and others did not struggle to gain market acceptance due to enabling millions of Africans to make money.

Have you been into OK Shops recently? In the past they used to focus on collecting money from consumers but through Mukuru, Senditoo, and other leading money transfer agencies—Ok Shops has joined the make others make money chorus. Chicken Inn Bucks is another addition to a booming money transfer business model.

The Chinese Community

Those involved in manufacturing have no final consumer in mind. Visit Granitesite, Southerton, Workington and Msasa  in Harare and observe them in Tupperware, carpets, rugs, hosepipes, tiles and other products. The model is strictly enabling others to make money.

The model is fast; helps bring fast returns, and helps gain quick market access.

• Interested in a shop that sells sofas? Yes it’s feasible but be prepared to be very patient.
• Interested in selling clothing directly to consumers? Then read how our mealie meal company changed its business plan.

A Zbinite Obey Nziramasanga opened a mutton cloth manufacturing business recently and he cannot cope with demand as he is enabling others to make money!

So find a way to tweak your business model to join the make others make money frenzy if you have one already.

To new investors, review your business plans with making others make money lenses.

This business model could be argued to be Business 2 Business but with deep variations. For instance where is the B2B when you are procuring a borehole drilling machinery? Your targeted clients are consumers at face value but in Zim every C is fast being replaced with a B or E for entrepreneur..

With high unemployment, eroded pensions, challenging economy and a host of other challenges—everyone being turned into entrepreneurs across the continent. This means you can employ the model in Angola, South Africa, Botswana and Malawi too.

In Africa practically everyone being turned into business operations in order to look for monies or even augment income. So we find the educated, non educated; the employed and unemployed, the young and old—essentially everyone making it the biggest sector on the continent.

A new private school named Nattie has taken the social media landscape by storm. The school has upped the ante in terms of standards! The design definitely foreign and social media users have given thumps up. The only concern is will the fees be affordable?

Our 2022 Business Opportunities Opportunities Book which is nearing completion has 10 chapters and if you have read previous editions, then you should be familiar with Agriculture, Women Opportunities, Regional Opportunities, Digital Marketing, Youths Opportunities, Risk Management and other chapters.

However our latest edition has a chapter of 10 carefully selected short business plans which include mushrooms, arts and crafts, mealie meal production, Beira Beach Hotel and private schools.

We briefly cover private schools an area that is experiencing growth over the years with established brands opening new branches across the country. Talk of Herentals, Reekworth, Tynwald Primary School, Mother Touch and more.

Zimbabwe‘s population keeps increasing exerting pressure for public goods such as schools. However the government and local authorities not able to meet demand therefore leaving a huge gap being plugged by private investors.

New areas in Harare such as Retreat in Waterfalls, Madokero in Tynwald, Sandton in Westgate, Eastview and more need investors for schools and colleges. The peri urban including Nyabira, Domboshava, Epworth, Snake Park, Seke Rural and others are in need of quality schools but there are few takers.

Minimum Basic Requirements

Premises: One can buy commercial stands for sale but this is often pricey. Substitutes include buying houses with large stands, convert premises into classes—build more classes including ablution facilities. Where no space is left, hire sports grounds like what Waterfalls Gardens do.

Transport: one need a bus for transportation of pupils and this is a plus often considered by parents as they compare schools.

Good quality furniture: Well furnished class rooms a great advantage. This includes tiled floors, and great school halls.

Staff Retention: The greatest asset in a school are teachers and the admin staff. Remunerate them well and watch as your investment brings great returns over time. A high staff turn- over for a new school is a red flag!

E-learning facilities: Having laboratories including a computer lab a great competitive advantage as the education sector embraces the digital economy.

Registration: The mushrooming of private colleges shows that registration processes are no longer rigid like in the past. Research on private schools registrations with local authorities and relevant education ministry departments.

Bear in mind that it takes time for a private college to get established and therefore expect losses or break evens in the first few years as you establish your brand. Parents are often sceptical of new schools and most watch from the terraces others taking the risks of enrolment. When great results starts trickling in then you have arrived, your time to recoup all investment costs and earn profits.

With traffic congestions now a permanent feature, most parents are opting for suburb based good schools for their children—a trend you can benefit from as CBD based schools lose appeal.

Extra funds permitting, one can also set up boarding facilities as sending pupils to far flung places goes out of fashion due to logistics challenges.

Interested in owning a private school? You have more researched to do with one option being pooling of funds from like- minded individuals. Workers getting retrenchment or pension packages, Zimbos in South Africa with expiring permits etc

The good thing about this sort of investment is you are unlikely to lose most of your capital as you have title to your real estate.

At one time the local media reported that about US$2 million circulated in Mbare on a daily basis! We do not have recent stats but still the figures could be close given that the Mbare Vegetables Market is the biggest one in the country drawing suppliers and clients across the country.

A lot of fruits and veges go to waste everyday and cumulative figures could run into several tonnes per per year worth hundreds of thousands or possibly millions of dollars.

Good folks, opportunities presented for startups that can collect excess products and process them for sale.

Requirements

# Buy or rent a home in Mbare or nearby industrial sites of Graniteside, Ardbennie, Workington or Southerton.

# Procure drying machinery from China with price ranges starting from US$10k

# Procure a truck for ferrying produce from Mbare and for delivery purposes.

# Learn about branding from a Zbinite Blessing Shumbakadzi based in Bulawayo. She has world class branded products.

# With time sensitise farmers to deliver material to own premises whenever they encounter market flooding. Instead of throwing away produce, they can obtain a return that may help in cost recoveries.

# Have collection centres at Mbare and even add Chikwanha vegetables market with time.

Of course these are the basics which needs to be followed after an extensive market research which factors the quantity of vegetables and fruits going to waste, the prices farmers would be willing to pay, the costs and revenues involved and in summary–viability of the venture.

The market includes local shops, tuckshops and leading brands such as Food Lovers.

Additional Benefits: The area of food recycling topical and attracting donor funding and prizes.

The future of business opportunities is right there in the communities! With the forum having 100k members, the challenge is to effectively link up everyone so that they can support each other in business!

This is no doubt a tough initiative as it involves holding small meetings in areas where our members live and developing quality business relationships. We are proud of the small steps we are taking every month and we are confident of success.

So over the past weekend we held 4 meetings in 4 areas namely;

Ruwa, Kambuzuma, Waterfalls and Kempton Park in South Africa and we would like to thank everyone who attended. If you missed out, then try at the end of the month or in December.

When planning on startup logistics, more focus is placed on access to capital—managing the related stress, premises acquisition, access to markets and operations. For startups, this is a daunting task as the learning curve is quite steep. Remember our recent post on learning curves—its costly to obtain experience on the rugged terrain of entrepreneurship.

So you get to wear many hats—CEO, Accountant, Marketing Manager, Operations Director, PA, Auditor, Cleaner and more.

How do you balance these roles which will be exerting different forces requiring your attention sometimes simultaneously? This often results in you being overwhelmed!

One of the most complex area that is often ignored and yet bring so much stress when things go south is inventory control. Quite often relegated to the bottom of the pile and yet the opposite should be true—many have closed their operations due to inventory control oversight.

Ideally the role should have a full time employee involved in procurement, monitoring movements, issuing out stock and then reporting. However in practice this is often a peripheral function but only taken seriously when the horses have bolted!

The more the products you deal with, the more the risks,

The wider the geographical area you have to deal with, the more the risks,

If the owner is often absent from the battlefront, the more the risks,

The more the personnel that deal with stock, the more the risks,

If the person involved in sales is also responsible for inventory, the more the risks,

If there is no system for record keeping, the more the risks,

Let’s take for example a new farmer involved in maize farming. The components of inventory likely to be the following;

• Seeds
• Fertilizers
• Herbicides/Pesticides
• Farming implements or tools
• Maize output

Unless one has experience then they are likely to have a rude awakening when they encounter losses from the above components.

Transporting inputs to the farm is stressful, so is the preparation of the fields and planting crops. Then the monitoring of the crops, applying fertilizers and herbicides till maturity. Add stress related to droughts and by the time the crop is ripe for harvesting, the farmer will be totally exhausted.

Now where will the farmer get time to be recording inventory, counting it, checking expiry dates etc? Truth is there is hardly time as one would have spent all the energy on the key activity—getting the crop ripe and ready for the market.

Recommendation

• Your business plan should factor in inventory control systems and should also cover audits,
• Budget for a secure place, have someone responsible for inventory control,
• Create systems for recording your stock movements, also regularly audit the system,
• Funds permitting, engage experts for inventory systems set ups and audits,
• Inventory reports should be part and parcel of your financial reports and should be reviewed,

There is of course more you can do to strengthen your systems. In reality inventory control is one of the toughest tasks for entrepreneurs as the results of losses are often not immediate but come at the end of a long period. A break in of the store house is likely to be concealed and perhaps come to light at the end of the farming season.

How do you deal with staff turnover and inventory? What if an employee just disappears with stock? How do you deal with staff selling own products in your shop?

This is complex science although at face value it looks like a peripheral role. And remember too that some of your employees could be fighting with you with an ulterior motive to sell some of the inventory. This is why its critically important for the owner to be 100% present especially during the  first days when internal controls and systems are weak.

To business plan developers, on the risk management schedule–do not forget inventory control risks

Having been around the block for close to a decade, ZBIN has reached a stage of reaping from the relationships dividend. We have sowed and nurtured solid business relationships over the years and the greatest output is crowdfunding with the following companies formed by our members;

1. Rabbits International (Zw)
2. Agrivolution (Zw)
3. Big Ideas Galore (RSA)
4. Nutricio (Zw)
5. Patsime (Zw)
6. GlobalRunners.com  (RSA) and
7. Vagutta (RSA)

The latest Vagutta company was registered recently and is composed of Zimbos based in SA who pooled resources inorder to start market gardening! A major shift by Zimbos in diaspora as they venture beyond the workspaces looking for entrepreneurship opportunities.

We wish them well in their baby steps, we know it’s not going to be easy but you will not only get there but help inspire other diasporans to unite, pool resources and join the train.

Meanwhile the forum also registered success as our women’s forum got registered as a trust under trust deed MA0000222/2021. We wish them the best in their journey to full emancipation.

In Chitungwiza, they recently established a roundtable and we will update you of progress at the end of the month.

When many first undertake the long and winding journey of entrepreneurship, there is one critical component often taken for granted—Experience!

We have countless inquiries of members who say they have x amount of capital and asking what sort of businesses they can undertake? Yes there are plenty of opportunities around but unless you have experience of running an enterprise or the x enterprise, your first days will be tough.

Statistics do show that for every business started, the success rate is 20% after 5 years!

In other words the failure rate is 80% over 5 years.

Dear reader, are you prepared for a 20% success rate? And with most of you used to scoring As and Bs at high school and colleges but when it comes to business, your As and Bs turn to FAIL#

Welcome to the Learning Curves which are also called Experience Curves.

Below we illustrate how the learning curves work;

You attend a cake baking training and the trainer demonstrates how cakes are baked and takes 45 minutes. Now let’s see practically how long it will take you to bake your own#

• First cake: 2,5 hours
• Second cake: 2,0 hours
• Third cake: 1.5 hours
• Fourth cake: 1 hour
• Fifth cake: 50 minutes
• Sixth cake: 45 minutes

Not only did you take longer to reach 45 minutes with 5 attempts but chances are high that your first cakes were not up to standard. You may have thrown away the first 3 cakes which translates to a heavy loss on materials. This is money lost but the good thing is you were persistent and kept on improving till you successfully managed to bake standard cakes within reasonable times.

These are the losses you encounter when you join entrepreneurship—learning costs or losses. Because this is actual money lost, it hurts lol

Due to poor recording, these costs are likely to go unrecorded and in most cases some just abandon projects at the earliest losses and move to the next.

Shifting from one project to the next due to learning curve losses means you are forever learning and losing out.

So take a project to full completion, document lessons, review performance and improve.

Business Planning and Experience Curves

Is the business new?

Is it your first time to run a business?

Then your learning curve is going to be very steep. Farming for the first time? Its safe to say you are going to be burnt in the first year or years. Do thorough planning, engage experts but be realistic, you are going to be sinking your capital with little to nil returns.

If you would like to short circuit the experience curve then visit other farmers, network, learn and farm on a small piece of land. Slowly improve and increase area                 farmed over time.

The problem with most newbies is they want to get rich quick!  You just want to plant 50 hectares of sugar beans for the first time because you saw someone who successfully made money from it the previous season.

So every business plan should factor in learning/experience curves and these should be reflected in cashflow and operational projections.

*To accounting professionals, this brings back memories of P2 isn’t it? How did you find it? Are you still using the concepts in your day to day life?

We all want to live in mansions isn’t it? Imagine a triple storey house with 10 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, tennis court, basketball court, entrance hall, swimming pools, theatre rooms etc.

Who would turn down such luxuries? Eeeh be honest lol

So those who speak against mansions just do not have the money right? To a great extent YES. A case of sour grapes, if you cannot afford it, then speak ill of it!

However within our community of ZBIN, we have a good number of rising entrepreneurs in different sectors of the economy with the fastest rising entrepreneurs involved in mining. So give the forum a few years and many will have joined the multi millionaire band wagon.

So to future millionaires, is a mansion a worthwhile investment?

For bragging rights Yes, however;

• You cannot rent it out,
• It’s difficult to resale as those who can afford to buy it prefer building own mansions,
• Mansions are costly to maintain and quickly lose value when poorly maintained,
• It’s tricky for banks to accept mansions as surety given that they are difficult to sell and recoup lost funds in case of default,

So in essence a multimillion dollar mansion can be a liability which only satisfy your ego but in real sense wasted monies.

High Rental Income Zones

Simple 4-5 bedrooms in Chisipite, Groombridge, Alex Park, Mt Pleasant and Highlands can earn rentals of 10% per annum with most coming from expats and company executives. The close location to private schools, shops and other amenities makes these areas more attractive. However they are unlikely to rent in mansions worth $1m and above.

Investment Options

• Can your mansion be turned into offices in future?
• Can it be converted into a lodge?
• Can it be a conference centre?
• Can it be converted into a school or college?

 In the developed world, mansions especially those owned by celebrities are easily sold, but in Zimbabwe, there is no such a market. So think carefully about this when your time to splurge on a dream mansion comes.

Make sure you have budgeted enough funds to complete the mansion for if you fail to complete it, it can take you decades to sell it.

The author holds no grudges against the wealthy, infact the message is congrats and enjoy your funds.

Its our wish for our members to graduate from small businesses to medium and big businesses. One surefire way to the top is through access to tenders and winning bids! Here are some basics you need to master.

The First Rule=Meet set requirements on tender advert.A look at most tenders reveal the following requirements;

1) Registered company

2) Tax compliance,

3) Evidence of ability to deliver

4) Office premises existence,

5) Other legal requirements.

First Stage of Review

1) Do you meet set advert requirements? Submission on due date, submission in correct format, registration and compliance issues etc. Pretty basic box ticking exercise which thousands of bidders meet.

2) If yes you go to second stage Second Stage:

Quality Review

The over view of tenders is the ability to deliver advertised services or products at the best value. You need to provide proof of your abilities through references. You should also be of good standing in society.

1) Value for money analysis: Can you deliver value for $? Cost & price models. Have you bid with the least reasonable costs? The least cost does not necessarily mean value as someone with a higher price than yours can be selected.

2) Risk Analysis: Are you not a briefcase company? Can we visit your site and case studies too?

3) Presentation: How are your papers presented? Although not part of most checklists, still plays an important role.Remember for each tender advertised, there are thousands of bidders,Some more experienced than you!

4) ISO Certification: Although not a requirement on most bids, but in some cases may hep you earn a few points ahead of competition.

So you have to go the extra mile to win it.This is Olympics Stuff…You vs Serena Williams on a tennis match,Or you vs Lewis Hamilton on a formula 1 contest,Odds heavily stacked against you,

Prepare for tenders

The starting points~

1) National Budgets

2) Company financial statements

3) NGO websites

4) You can add more

You should not wait for newspapers to flight ads, its too late to respond,Later this year, Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube will allocate funds for 2022 expenditure ~ Do analyse allocations and start preparations!If 500 bridges are to be constructed, then be ready,The direction of funds flow is as follows;

Strategy,

Budgets,

Tenders,

If you skip strategy and budget then you have missed the train.

Prepare to fail 1000x Yes you will be rejected countless times but its part of the game,You gain experience although it comes at a cost of time, stationery and stress,After submitting a bid, always ask for feedback ~Who won? Why? Why did you lose?Most tenders have a briefing session where losers are addressed. Newbies often ignore this important feedback session~So how do you learn?

Tenders & Innovations

1) We have covered how to look for information before tenders arrive,

2) Secondly consider partnerships in bidding for tenders~very innovative as it can plug gaps in your entity,

3) There is growing interest in promoting new businesses, youth owned business and gender considerations. So irrespective of experience ~you may dribble seasoned players to the top.

Corruption

As a seasoned reviewer of tenders worth more than US$300m, Iam yet to bump into corruption as I have been part of teams where we have done our best in terms of transparency,However from as far back as 2003, heard of stories of 20% kickbacks… I won’t talk of something I have little knowledge of. I however strongly advise members to avoid kickbacks!

Disappointments

Zim businesses highly regarded across the region and yet few take interest.In one tender worth €9m across the borders, we had a Zimbo firm coming up as the top candidate.Impressive presentation,But when I checked compliance with audited reports submission, they had just submitted a financial report!So €9m went up in smoke for an audit that costs $5000? Unbelievable….I have also been on the side of preparing tenders and its a laborious and time consuming exercise.You can work 22 hours per day non stop, doing so for a week or so and still lose it,Every detail matters; words, grammar, page nos, images, font colour and size etc.

And if shortlisted, cleanliness of premises, staff clothing and demeanor, location, your presentation style etc. This is Olympics Stuff, preparation over years pays off.References:Look for how Strive Masiyiwa won the Mascom licence in Botswana.Weeks and weeks of preps,Tonnes of rehearsals,Kutsanya nekutsanya

Young adults say Its no kid’s games.

So prepare your business for future tenders. Look at basic requirements for tenders and tick them against your current business.

All the best