Diaspora Matters

What clear message is coming from the ban of kombis? Covid-19 has ushered in formal opportunities. Those with big buses will benefit at the expense of kombis. Those with registered bus companies have no worries about opportunities.

How about the transportation of tobacco? The script is the same, organised transport companies have more to benefit than small scale transporters.

Vendors operating from illegal structures? We all witnessed what transpired.

Covid-19 has brought in the need for order in the biggest sector in the country (Zimbabwe has the second largest informal sector in the world). The sector is expected to be orderly and meaningfully contribute to economic growth through taxes, levies and formal economic participation.

What opportunities do we see on the horizon?

Transport: Kombis, mshikashikas and other transport players can pool resources andlobby the responsible authorities to be allowed to operate as groups of companies. If all kombis in Mabvuku register under one company, rebrand and have trained professional staff, then there might be leniency from policy makers. If the company can provide evidence of driver training, customer care skills, self regulating mechanisms and evidence of tax compliance, then they have improved chances of getting an ear from responsible ministries. This is better than operating your own kombi and hoping that the ban will be lifted.

Vendors: In countries such as Thailand, they have a selected vendors who use designated places and they operate from neat and professional vending carts. An opportunity for registered vendors to engage city officials with proposals.

Online Tutors: E-Education is the new norm but there is the issue of many scattered tutors and it is difficult to assess quality or conduct reference checks. Great opportunity for a registered body of online tutors with impeccable credentials.

There are many more opportunities coming but the key word is formalisation! It is also being organised and working as teams.

Working as teams is a huge challenge in Zimbabwe and the late Prof Masipula Sithole aptly captured it when he said ‘If you take 2 Zimbabweans to the moon, the following day they would have formed 3 political parties’

Having worked with thousands of entrepreneurs across SADC, the most difficult ones are found in Zimbabwe. As soon as  progress starts showing signs, intense jostling of positions commences-many fights break out. Even people who had not shown interest suddenly join in the scramble for power and resources. This is the curse that has destroyed many group initiatives.

If the informal sector has to succeed, then there is need for a paradigm shift. Keep fighting or pulling each other down and the train of opportunities will keep moving in full speed!

Home work for you-are you helping to build formal and organised groups of businesses or you prefer flying solo? Calculate the opportunity cost of solo and informal businesses…..

Customer experience is one area the forum is very passionate about. It goes hand in glove with Digital Marketing. If you read our 20018 debut book then you should be aware of Chapter 5 dedicated to the topic. In our latest Digital Marketing Book, we opened the book with staging experiences.

Let’s look at a few case studies of practical customer experiences:

Case Study 1

In 2017 the author attended a funeral in Tandi Rusape.  Upon arrival in the evening took a few relatives to a shopping centre across Mhezi River. A sleepy place with little going on and we identified a butchery where we bough meat, tomatoes and cucumbers. We purchased a few drinks from shops across the road and did set up our own braai.

What started as a small event soon snowballed into a massive experience as passing motorists upon seeing the braai going on stopped and joined in. Kombi drivers heading to the last stop in Chitsva joined us and within 2 hours we had a large gathering of us, passing motorists and villagers.

Villagers selling rabbit meat also joined in the braai experience sharing village stories of farming, hunting and other social issues. Our team had urban stories including entrepreneurship.

The butchery owner was surprised to learn of the massive potential she possessed as she ran out of meat. Bottle store owners across the road could not believe that all action had diverted to the small butchery which had never run out of meat in ages.

Case Study 2

When we toured Beira in October, we decided to save on accommodation by looking for cheap accommodation in Dondo about 40km from Beira. Accomodation was US$8/room and it was not really bad as it had basics.

If you have ever travelled along the Machipanda-Beira Road, you should be aware of the Tongaat Hullet turnoff and at the turnoff there is a restaurant pub or banca. The 3 of us did light up the place in the 3 days we were in Mozambique.

Frelimo supporters coming from a rally in Beira ended up congregating at the place and on the last day, they closed at 4:00am instead of the usual 9:00pm. We staged memorable experiences and resulted in a lot of contacts with  some promising us access to land!

Case Study 3

Our meeting in February at Leisure Centre in Chitungwiza had the biggest gathering of entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe. We did not have one place presenting but a diverse team tackling various topics such as bus transport, crowdfarming, real estate, regional opportunities and more.  The presenters staged experiences and it paid off. The after meeting had more memorable experiences and networking.

We repeated the concept with the March Meeting at Capitalk Gardens were an even greater number of forum members attended. Sadly the Covid-19 shutdown affected our plans but one thing is apparent…the forum can attract thousands of members through staging memorable experiences!

Incorporating experiences in your business

-Have you been to National Tyres in Harare recently? Their headquarters situated in Graniteside now has a fabulous fitting centre where clients rest whilst watching television whilst their vehicles have tyres fitted.

– Have you witnessed Mambos Chicken Ads? How do they factor in experiences?

-Did you read our feature of Thailand customer experiences?

-Did you know the doctor’s waiting room ensures you do not get bored whilst the doctor is busy with other clients?

-Why does Mai Chisamba show include audience participation?

-Why does Millinier Properties include videos in their adverts?

One for the road

There is customer service which we are all aware of but this is elementary. The advanced series include customer experiences and this is still an alien concept in Zimbabwe. Those who master it will have a headway and this explains why we are passionate about it. It is a little known concept and yet creates and sustains your business.

One can just start a business today-stage experiences and carve out a niche market for themselves. The good thing is customer experiences do not cost an arm and a leg….its just a mindset, its is a culture done on a consistent basis. Clients keep coming and they also refer others when they experience exceptional experiences.

To those who got a Digital Marketing Book, the good news is we are compiling a book on Customer Experiences and its coming free of charge. Add customer experiences on top of the digital marketing skills and we will be confident of having created winners.

We have started compiling the easy to read and apply book and will share the good news in 2 weeks time.

We would like you to win big tenders! We will be extremely happy  if one of you wins a big tender….this is good growth. But however there is no school of winning tenders!

Noone is also going to come and teach you how to win tenders unless you bump into an article like this, chances are high you will remain in the dark.

I have been fortunate enough to review a huge number of tenders especially in foreign governments and NGOs and in this article will share what I have observed over the past years.

1. Prepare your company to win tenders from day 1
2. Register it, prepare financial statements, pay your taxes and follow good corporate practices
3. Analyse budget allocations by governments. If there is a budget allocation for dam constructions and you are an engineering company, then get prepared from the day of the budget presentations.
4. The Donor community spends hundreds of millions in Zim, do you follow their priorites and budget allocations?
5. Get your PRAZ registration early

Rule No 1: Meet Requirements

I have articulated the basic requirements above….very easy but most of you take them for granted.

Rule No 2: Align your company for tenders

Do a lot of good work, get references and document them

Do great work of neat filing and improving your brand

Buy newspapers on a constant basis and follow the tender winds

Allocate time for tenders; it can be 2% of your time

Rule No 3: Tender Task Force

Who will assist you in tender applications? Will you hire outsiders or use own team?

Do you have sufficient time for application, review and quality control and submission in time?

Common mistakes with tender applications

First stage: Not following the rules resulting in failing at the first stage (Tender references, late entries, wrong marking , no tax clearances, no bank statements, no audit reports etc)

Second stage: Quality review test, value analysis (cost benefit analysis) business models, sustainability, little innovation or considerations of trending issues.

Third Stage: References check. At the end of a long process of review, 3 finalists are short listed and references are checked. Many take this stage for granted and unfortunately pay a heavy price.

My experiences of reviewing tenders

I have concentrated on conducting financial analysis. Compliance issues-registrations, tax compliance, audit reports review, corporate governance, financial ratios analysis, business models reviews, cost benefit reviews and more financial matters reviews.

Biggest regret was disqualifying a Zimbabwean based company tendering for a multi million dollar project. They were on their way to winning but there was one small thing missing…an audit report worth US$4500! And a tender worth more than US$10 million was blown away. Accounting and audits may be a small matter but they can cost you millions of dollars.

Is there corruption in tenders?

Stories abound of corruption in tenders. People who pay brown envelopes to tender committee members and from as early as 2003, I heard of 20% kickbacks but however in the many tenders I have reviewed, everything was done above board. All processes were documented ensuring the best won.

Additional  Tips

Have a checklist of the tender-use it in tender preparation and submission. For first timers, this process is not easy as you may have to spend sleepless nights  with no guarantee of winning. For every tender you fail to win, ask for feedback on why you failed and then work on your weaknesses.

The best case study of how to win tenders is how Dr Strive Masiyiwa won the MASCOM tender in Botswana, search on his Facebook page the experiences he shared.

So prepare your company for winning the next big tender and remember its not an event but a long process. Zimbabwean companies encouraged to also look beyond the borders for tender opportunities and when you apply, make sure you partner with locals.

The oldest university in the country has restructured its programs and came up with some exciting new ones. We give credit to the university administration for creating programs that align to the current and future needs of the country.

We list our top 10 new programs (hoping we have not made a mistake of listing old programs as new).

1. Bsc Honours Value Chain Development and Agricultural Marketing
2. Creative Designs Animation and Motion Graphics
3. Bsc Financial and Accounting Systems Development and Applications
4. Bsc Honours Audit and Risk Management
5. Bsc Honours Digital Banking
6. Bsc Honors Cybersecurity and Forensics Auditing
7. Bsc Honours Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
8. Bsc Honours Cloud Computing and Internet of Things
9. Bsc Drug Discovery and Therapeutics
10. Bsc Data Science and Systems

The future is digital and with 4IR already upon us, we looked at the new curricula with 4IR lenses and the introduction of the Bsc Financial and Accounting Systems Development and Applications shows that the college is moving with the times.

A good number of accounting students are tech savvy and had nowhere to demonstrate and develop their skills. How many accounting softwares in the country were developed by locals?

Creative Designs Animation and Motion Graphics shows that we are aligning with the needs of the 4IR and this is a great addition. The same applies to ICT degrees covering Cybersecurity and Forensics Accounting, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Cloud Computing and Internet of things.

One missing area has been of local drugs! Why do we keep relying on foreign drugs when our forefathers used local solutions to local problems? Why are our local colleges mum on finding a vaccine for Covid-19? What tests have they done to date? Why is Madagascar the only country talking about local solutions?

In our 2020 Business Opportunities for Zimbabweans, we covered a local medicine that helps in the Anti Malaria fight. Its used by locals in the Eastern Highlands and found in abundance. Why cant we use it and help save thousands of lives and help save forex too? We would like to see results from the Bsc Drug Discovery and Therapeutics.

Agricultural degrees from the institute are top notch and we highly recommend them even for foreign students.

Missing is E-Education and hope this can be integrated in the Educational degrees.

Short courses the university can also add include:

1. Digital Marketing
2. Block Chain Technology
3. Big Data
4. Cyber security ( only exists as a full time degree)
5. Network Marketing local products

With most students unable to secure employment, every degree needs courses on creating opportunities for graduates.

A degree in accounting should include courses on how to open an own accounting firm. How do you register companies?  How can your accounting knowledge and skills be of benefit to the small business sector?

 Law students or laboratory students should also follow the same model. If formal employment is not forthcoming, how about creating own ventures and utilising the same skills they obtained from college? Will law degrees include E-Law?

Stakeholders will be analysing the content of what students will be learning-comparing and contrasting with foreign colleges and professional courses too. Will accounting students graduate knowing how to use accounting systems? We get satisfaction that they will now be able to develop own systems too.

The hope is other colleges will not simply copy and paste what UZ has done but to provide better alternatives. The UZ has done a sterling job although there are gaps in developing skills for the informal sector which is absorbing more than 90% of its graduates.

So far so good, well done University of Zimbabwe.

Farming is perhaps the most important profession in the whole world yet the most underrated. One way or the other we all depend on the farmer for survival as most of our food is produced by farmers directly or indirectly. Globally farming is a multi-billion-dollar industry contributing to the GDP’s of many countries. Before we talk about billion-dollar levels let us start at small scale farming level were most farmers are in Zimbabwe.

Emmanuel D.N Dube |ZBIN Agronomy correspondent

A remarkably interesting topic came up last week in one of our ZBIN Agric groups when a farmer was seeking advice on how to grow a certain crop. So many views came up, various schools of thought came up some toxic and some helpful. In this article we shall cover a few basics neededfor one to run a farming enterprise successfully.

1. Have interest.

Nothing as joyous as getting paid to do what you have a passion for. Having a strong interest in farming usually has a positive effect on production and success of the business.

• Farming is a not a get rich quick business

Ask any farmer out there who has made it they will tell you that the rewards take a while to come to fruition for some its months and some years. There are so many variables that can affect your plan resulting in losses. Yes risks are there in farming too hence the need for careful planning. You are not likely to get rich quick in farming.

• Planning

Perhaps one of the most important tasks in farming is planning. Without a solid plan you have planned to fail. Before embarking on any farming venture you need to sit down and look at the numbers and viability. Most small-scale farmers will just grow crop X because their neighbour is doing it and they heard it makes money, “Heard”, is the key word there. It is crucial to carry out your own research before embarking on any farming venture.

• Technical expertise

Very few small-scale farmers appreciate the need to seek the services of a technical expert to help them get the best yield and value from their crop. I have come across a commercial farmer who is growing blue berries for export, he has agronomists fly in from South Africa every fortnight to come and check on his crop because he values his business. Ok maybe you are not a commercial farmer and cannot afford such services, well most seed houses, Agro-dealers and even the government have free extension services which you can put to good use. Locally we do have agronomists who are more than capable to assist at a very affordable price. Perhaps it is important to look at it from a business point of view. In conclusion if you do not know how to do the job employ someone who can and pay them well to get good results.

• Funding

If you do not have adequate resources do not grow it, that is what I tell some of the farmers I come across. It is pointless to labour so hard with inadequate resources and produce 30% of what you should have had the resources been available. Rather you concentrate on growing a small and manageable area and get the best quality and yield and grow from there.

• Do not bite off more than you can chew

Like any business do not commit to growing more than you can manage. This goes back to point number 3 of planning. A lot of companies are now into contracting farming and will offer you seemingly lucrative deals, do not hasten to put pen to paper look at the plan carefully. Ask yourself, Do I have the labour to manage the crop? Do I have the equipment?

• Loans

These come in various shapes and forms and you need to be incredibly careful not to get trapped in these although they can be a good foot stool to get your enterprise up and running. Some organisations are offering tractors and combine harvesters on a long-term loan basis. Honestly, you do not need a combine harvester if you a growing less than 20 ha of grain crop its cheaper to higher the machine every time you need it. Engage a qualified financial expect to help you decide and make an informed decision.

Whether you are growing your crops in your back yard or have an entire farm it is important to look at farming as a business and not just as a hobby. Once this is applied across the board you are on your way to successful farming.

Emmanuel is a qualified Agronomist and development practitionerwith more than a decade’s experience working in the agri-business industry and development sector. You can contact him on edndsep@gmail.com or whatsapp on 0783495396

Following the ban of the kombis, our forum of 66,000 members conducted a survey yesterday and the results are as follows:

Good Move- Provide Adequate Transport System first: 140

Long overdue-Good Move:  69

Bad Decision: 33

Conclusion

There is support for the move provided an efficient mass public transport system is put in place.

Implications

No reliable statistics exist of the number of kombis in the country but this is a big hit on their income. Our estimates are that there could be more than 50,000 kombis supporting more than 3 families (The owner of the kombi, the driver and assistant/hwindi). This means 150, 000 affected and if we factor in an average family of 3, then a minimum of 450,000 people affected by the ban. Of course some few will be incorporated in the ZUPCO franchise but it will be a tiny drop in the ocean.

How did we get to this situation?

Kombis had become outlaws! They flouted all the traffic rules with impunity and in the processes creating nemesis all over. City councils did not like them; the traffic police did not like them either-what is worse? They created an acrimonious relationship with their key stakeholders-passengers!

When you start stepping on the toes of everyone then your days are numbered! Kangoma kakanga koririsa…

The missing link

Given the huge number of kombis, the owners should have formed a strong association like in South Africa. An association that gives the sector a voice so that they can engage key stakeholders such as city councils and the government.

The association would have helped resolve contentious issues such as discipline by the kombis-using designated pick up points, reasonable pricing, tax compliance, road traffic rules compliance and customer service.

Self regulation by kombi owners and keeping members in check would have been an asset for sustainability. This is happening across Limpopo and to a limited extent in Bulawayo. We need order on the roads!

But the kombis decided to operate individually and now look at the results.

Way forward

It is not too late to set up or revive an association during the lockdown. They need a strong voice which can be heard by the government. They need to engage them and come up with proposals. Even in South Africa with one of the best mass public transport systems, there is room for kombis.

One area they can look at is coming up with branded kombis and help schools with school runs. This is a big sector in the country but will need a few disciplined kombis to gain the trust of schools, parents and the government. This will be in addition to the few who will manage to register under the ZUPCO franchise.

Some can even register under the delivery vans brand and help in agriculture produce and groceries deliveries across the towns.

There is need to study the South Africa model too where some associations had even pooled resources to buy service stations and bigger buses.

Our ZBIN Ride is another platform kombi owners can use to find clients and the good thing is that it’s free.

With mshikashikas banned too, opportunities created for the tuk tuks in the CBD and Econet had already done some trial runs. Entrepreneurs need to watch closely this emerging opportunity.

Biggest lesson learnt

When you are not organised, when you do not have a strong voice, the result is often doom. This applies to many other sectors in the country especially the informal sector.

When it comes to financial reports review or analysis, many focus on budget vs actual performance.

Did we make a profit? How does it compare against the budget?

If you are a bit advanced, how is our profit compared to competitors?

The balance sheet growth, the cashflows etc

So financial statements tell you how good you are performing? Do they tell the full picture?

Of course there have been attempts to get a balanced picture such as the use of performance metrics in other areas or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and The Balanced Scorecard.

But how often are these measures used by small businesses?

Welcome to the world of lost business or hidden costs.

Self Assessment

1. How much money did you lose due to the absence of a Digital Strategy?
2. How much did you lose due to non disclosure of prices on your ads?
3. How much money did you lose due to extortionate pricing?
4. How much money did you lose due to bad  customer experiences?
5. How much money did you lose due to customer inconveniences?
6. How much money did you lose due to insistence on USD payments?
7. How much money did you lose by not hiring experts?
8. How much money did you lose due to high employee turnover?
9. How much money did you lose by using obsolete machinery?
10. How much money did you lose due to non registration of your business?
11. How much money did you lose by not partnering with others?

What you don’t know doesn’t hurt right? Well not so true….you will eventually encounter problems and many often regret when it’s too late.

The focus is often times centred on selling, selling, replenishing stock and selling. If the income comes in then we are fine BUT we never think of lost opportunities because most of them are invisible.

If a potential client searches for your business online and they don’t find you…no official record is registered in your books!

If you post an ad with no prices, no one comes to you to complain!

Perhaps you can record the number of clients who inquire about your products and services intending to use Ecocash and when you insist on cash, they walk out of the door?

How do you track the number of clients lost due to your employees being rude to clients?

Difficult world

When reviewing performance, focus on what is measurable –analyse for decision making but also PAUSE and reflect. What is the value of lost business? How do you measure it? What actions are you taking to recover potential lost business?

With most entrepreneurs not fully appreciating the value of financial experts, the results is you have to be a CEO, HR Manager, Marketing Manager, Finance Director, Production Director at the same time! Too many skills demanded at the same time and honestly no one can possess all of these skills at the same time.

This is why most start-ups fold within 6 months and for those that ride the wave, less than 15% remain standing on both feet at the end of 5 years!

So during the extra 2 weeks of the lockdown, take a pen and a paper and calculate the value of lost business—create a corrective plan and implement it as soon as yesterday.

In New York some are relocating to smaller towns, they cannot keep up with the expensive and over crowded life in the mega city! In Harare many failed to get buses to their rural homes before the lockdown. Lets look at the informal sector; Cross borders, Kombis and Mshika Shikas, Vendors and more. These businesses have been hit the hardest. It is going to be 2 months in lockdown in 2 weeks time. Are landlords going to get rental arrears? If you relied on rent as an income, you should not rely on the income coming regularly as it used to.

On a recent BBC feature, economists in SA puts the unemployment rate at 50% up from 30%. One in two South Africans now unemployed. Its understandable why they are coming up with policies and measures to protect their territory. Our diaspora remittances expected to take a huge knock.

In USA, the last statistics I saw during the midweek showed 36.5 million unemployed and these numbers keep increasing each week.

Apologies for less benign news, lets look at the positives

1. Agriculture: Which industry was amongst the first to be allowed to operate during the lockdown? It’s Agriculture and it will remain so for the foreseeable future. I have a lot of inquiries of people interested in starting businesses….and am pointing everyone to this field. Google search the Agriculture Value Chain to appreciate the many opportunities that exist in this sector.
2. Farming land value increase: So you have land in rural areas and you have ignored it over the past years? If New Yorkers are packing their bags and leaving for smaller cities how about us? The value of real estate in urban areas is taking a hit but the value of rural land doing in the opposite direction. Urbanites likely to relocate, some diasporans too. Sabhukus will be receiving tones of inquiries from land seekers and expect them to get busy as they assess idle land. There will be irresistible offers and do not be surprised if your land is parcelled out.
3. Minerals Discoveries: We were once in this situation and we know the Almighty blesses us in times of difficulty. Who remembers the Marange Diamonds? Do not speak loudly about this but in Chihota area there is good news…diamond discoveries some time last year. If its your area find out from locals. In Mhondoro good news too….some rich gold deposits by villagers muminda chaimo. Not sure what Beta Bricks is really doing in Musana area but locals suspect mineral exploration. There are many such stories from across the country. In Mhondoro some relatives are now fighting over the gold discoveries. Mumwe akapihwa munda akati handirime ndoita zvekutown…munda uya wave ne value manje but its too late!

We will continue with discussion. The good thing is we are wired to look down upon rural land, it has little value, does not have title deeds but the value is increasing with each day of the lockdown. We covered rural opportunities in our latest book, look at chapter 8 for inspiration.

The Geography maps you studied at school were a fraud! They hid crucial opportunities information from our minds! Raise your hand if you saw Marange Diamonds on the map?

Stay Blessed

Zim Business Ideas and Network (ZBIN)

One of the trending stories in the country is the hacking of the Youtube Channel of the popular drama series Wadiwa Wepamoyo. Account hacked with the hacker deleting all content and renaming it Dave Ramsey Live. What a loss for the crew and Zimbabwean art and large!

What could have happened?

Bus Stop Tv posted an interesting email exchange of a Chinese company interested in partnering with them. They then placed a link with an offer contract. Your guess as god as mine what would have happened next if they clicked the link.

So we have 2 scenarios:

1. High probability they clicked a phishing link like the one offered to Bus Stop TV
   1. They were reckless and shared pass words to their Google Email Accounts

We do not have the full details of what transpired till we have an official statement from the producers of Wadiwa Wepamoyo but chances are high that they probably fell for the phishing trick.

Phishing Defined

The fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.

Most Zimbabweans are oblivious of this scam and its worrisome that even a lot of companies are also found wanting.

One phishing email and the company secrets and other resources gone with the website up in flames!

Phishing Case Study

Clicking the link in the email above results in loss of emails and ultimately account.

Why do hackers succeed?

They mostly target inboxes of victims! They never share their links publicly. It is just you and them in your email box, Facebook inbox or your phone. About 3 weeks back a phishing link was widely shared on social media and resulted in a lot of people losing money in their EcoCash accounts.

So be careful, never shared passwords with anyone. Take note of auto saving passwords on your laptops and phones. Phishing scammers use links, before opening a link be wary of the risks of scammers.

Every entrepreneur should be aware of this, every company should also conduct regular trainings of their employees so that they keep abreast of latest tricks.

It is not as advanced as Uber, Taxify or Vaya but it meets the basics. Are you on the forum and interested in sharing rides? If yes then our simplest ride sharing platform maybe the one for you. All you need to do is to post when you intend to travel to a certain place and then link up with those interested.

You also stand to benefit from courier services within cities and inter cities.

Doing school runs? Going for school open days to schools out of town? Then our group maybe of interest to you.

To help improve efficiency, you post before your day of travel and others will link up with you in  advance.

The bonus is  already some are coordinating cross border logistics. To those interested in hiring cars, this is also the platform.

We have just opened 1 Whatsapp group for a forum of 65,000 members and the hope is we will create 50 more before the year.

Whatsapp link

https://chat.whatsapp.com/F7lOIOwEULN7ttNKiX9r7A?fbclid=IwAR0WYzMX1HjbmGUkfbh44W6KSxp-qDVvIvwlcXhPXAxY09NG4XNs1biQsBc