Diaspora Matters

For youngsters finishing college one of the areas you need to explore is blogging and below we feature some of the reasons.

1. Show Your Expertise

We have a lot of talent in Zimbabwe or the world at large that has gone untapped or showcased. We also have a lot of people going up their academic ladders even to PHD levels but most of these people still aren’t sharing with the world what they know best. The only thing they have to show is just a gown and a certificate hung up on a wall. I still find some other experts and educated guys who have spent so much time trying to submit their articles in the private media, but most of the times they get rejected or are told to revise their work. Then I ask myself if it is really worth it if I can build my platform then capitalize on it.  This does not apply to the educated ones only but also to anyone who is an expert in a certain field, or passionate about a certain area that you want to share the expertise with the world. The internet gives you unlimited opportunity to get your message right there into the world.

Maybe you so much interested in a certain area, be it cars, fashion, fitness, health, money, blogging, politics, technology etc. then what are you waiting for? Go for it now and start blogging about it. In fact blogging has been made very easy today you can get access to various Youtube tutorials or even blog posts or even ask some blogging experts to take you through the journey.

• Bulid Your Network

There is a common adage that says, ‘Your network is your net worth’ and believe you me we living in a world where who you know matters most. Through blogging I have managed to connect with some great men and women from all over the world. I have connected with some great international musicians and creative from all Africa and beyond and did some projects and interviews together. One of them we met last year when he came for the Zim Hip Hop Summit 2018, that was way after we had talked before over the phone and had done some works together online. Some of them I’m still to meet them and everyday my network is expanding. I occasionally get emails from international bloggers and content creators asking to have their articles featured on one of my other blogs

So let’s say you blog about finance, then it means you get to network with other finance bloggers and also your audience of which most of the times they would be people in your niche. To expand your network you can also read, share and comment on other blogs in your industry. The greatest hack to build a great network is to give without expecting anything in return, in fact to give more than you receive. Remember people are just attracted to people who give them something, so things like free e-books, great blog posts and even free giveaways will act like a magnet and expand your network.

• Distinguish Yourself & Build Your Brand

As a blogger, you generally have an added advantage over non-bloggers mainly because sometimes you appear to know more stuff than none bloggers. Most bloggers also are influencers in their own niches and people tend to follow their advice, analyses, reports, trends etc and many a time they even quoted by other bloggers. For business, there is a general inclination towards those that blog than those that don’t. Consumers view those that blog as more knowledgeable than those that don’t, so what are you waiting for? If there is one thing that can distinguish you from another person, that is the amount and quality of information you know and the easiest way to let the world know that you know something is definitely through blogging. This is mainly because blogging is very cheap and comes with immense opportunities. I want you to know that blogging is not an over-night success game and if you really looking for microwave success then please I beg you, ‘Don’t try it please’. If you’re going to blog about a subject, you need to KNOW YOUR STUFF.

This means you sometimes have to go out of your lane, researching and gathering content plus the immense effort and time required to put up a quality post. I remember my first times blogging, spending sleepless nights trying to put up one single post but that was worth it. I managed to develop myself, work under pressure, manage my time, articulate my thoughts and message. Remember practice makes perfect and I’m still working on my 10 000 hours. Again a look at some great brands like Jeff Bullas who specializes in Content and Digital Marketing,

Joel Brown of Addicted 2 Success that specializes in Motivational content, Janet Machuka specializes in Digital Marketing, Fitness Bae specializing in Fitness. All these guys have built great brands that extend beyond their personalities and they are capitalizing and monetizing on that.

• Increase Your Market & Reach

According to Hubspot, “53% of marketers say blogging is their top content marketing priority.”53% is a huge number, and the question could be, are you part of that large group, if not then what are you waiting for? The underlying reason is basically that they have seen its immense benefits and I don’t want you to miss these too. When you generate good content, search .come to your blog and pages and this means more leads which you can then covert to customers. Also when the content is good, people tend to share it reaching more and more unimaginable numbers. 94% of people share blog content because they think it might be useful to other people. (Source: nymarketing.com) To enjoy these matrices, you have to optimize on quality content. A blog being an online presence is there on the web 24/7 meaning someone is broadcasting your message all the time. Even when you asleep or on holiday people can still go view your site and read your posts, like and share them or even participate in some Call to Actions (CTA) thereby harvesting prospects and increasing your database.Companies that published 16 or more blog posts per month got 4.5X the leads than companies that published 4 or lessmonthly posts. (Source: Hubspot)

• Make money

Now I come to the area that I’m often asked by most people, ‘Zvinemari here?’ and I always calmly respond, “Try it”. Believe you me, this thing is a multi-billion dollar one, but as highlighted before it is not an over-night success and always the game, the world always rewards the best. There are many ways of making money online from sponsored posts, selling adverts, affiliate links, speaking engagements, selling books and courses etc. I will have to dedicate a whole blog post or series of posts dedicated to how you can make money online especially through blogging. Another quick way to make money through blogging for your business is to include your products and put up an e-commerce platform on your blog and website pages. If it is a services industry, you can also include some of your services on separate pages and also include booking or contact pages to let prospects get in touch and place orders.

By Tinashe Bonde and article originally published on blog www.coachtinashe.co.zw

Africans just love farming! Give them land and support and they will do wonders- after all farming is the oldest entrepreneurship sector on the continent. Of course there are challenges in terms of access to latest technology and others such as access to capital, markets and other resources. So from our 50,000 strong online community, we advertised for those interested in crowdfunding and the response was overwhelming!

Crowdfarming is the future of farming on the continent as it involves members interested in pooling resources together to enjoy economies of scale and other benefits. One of our forum admins offered the use of his farm to the ZBIN community and technically the forum members now own a piece of land.

Last Suturday witnessed a small group of our members touring the farm located in Beatrice about 37 kilometres from Harare and what an eye opener!

Our proposal for the initiative is the formation of a company wholly owned by interested members and the next proposal is brainstorming on a horticulture business idea which will be conducted by an independent business consultant.

Once this is done we will review the business plan and then contribute funds for the project. Shared resources means we reduce the risk of failure and the pooling of resources means that capital will nolonger be a hurdle in farming! So this is the biggest buzz on our forums and we believe only the sky is the limit.

We are not recruiting too many new members for logistical purposes. We will come and invite more once the project becomes a success and then we will scale it up across the country.

Talk of the power of unity!

Its not looking good in South Africa for foreign truck drivers as they are facing daily harassment and attacks on the roads. Locals especially in KwaZulu Natal are pushing their leaders to take drastic actions of banning all foreign drivers and replacing them with locals.

Only a daily basis, truck drivers are being targeted with a number of deaths recorded and unrecorded by reported on a weekly basis. Matters are coming to a head next week on 2nd September 2019 when an industrial action has been called by locals giving all foreign drivers to stay off the road. This has a huge impact on the transportation of goods in South Africa and the region.

In response, foreign drivers have also come up with a counter move by participating on an industrial action starting on Friday this week and there is a high possibility of border or major high way blockades. If you are travelling this week and the next week one, take into consideration possible disruptions on the high ways.

Advocacy pleas from the foreign truck drivers.

SADC governments to conduct high level negotiations to safeguard the security of drivers and their cargo.

The Zambia High Commission in South Africa has already issued a warning to their citizens on the issue, more governments should do the same.

The issue has the potential to spark xenophobic violence and cause more harm to citizens and regional trade. There is need for high level intervention to this fast deteriorating situation or the opportunity cost will be high.

Lorraine Guyo is one of the most influential ladies in Zimbabwe in 2019. A beautiful young lady who was propelled to stardom through Social Media. Her profile has been on the rise thanks to skits produced and directed by her former boyfriend Thomas Chizhange who is the founder of Zimbabwe’s Facebook Page of the year, Thomas Chizhanje and Friends.

Grey Contract

Thomas Chizhanje carried out a lot of work for Lorraine in sponsoring her startups and both parties agreed that he was going to recoup his costs once her career took off. Typical of most startups, trouble started when they received close to US$700.00 from the monetised Youtube channel and sponsors.

Then the couple split leading to controversies regarding the share of funds. Thom then took his money back without agreement and now Lorraine is crying foul. She wants her monies back in full and is claiming her ex boyfriend stole his money.

Sounds familiar?

This is a common story of startups, you have financial and other resources challenges at the first and enter into informal relationships or partnerships and trouble starts when your business starts to take off. All sorts of messy legal stuff start to crop up and some can be costly or leave your brand in tatters.

Who is putting funds into your project? Get a formal contract.

Who is volunteering? Get a formal contract for the contribution.

Someone partnering with you? Get a formal contract to protect yourself in future.

Falling in love with a business partner? Disaster in the making, when the relationship turns sour, you will have huge bills to pay.

Our forum legal contributor, Namatirai Ruzvidzo has posted a number of legal advice on the forum with some of them already on this site. Do look forward to more useful legal advice on the forum.

Did you read our last book titled Business Opportunities for Zimbabweans? We covered plenty of opportunities including some researches and interviews. One of the opportunities we covered in the agriculture chapter was beekeeping. Look for the book and read on page 35. Below we feature one of the viral posts in our forums concerning beekeeping;

Yesterday l met a 24 year old guy at WINPAT in Harare opposite Gain Cash and Carry. He is from Buhera and graduated from Harare Polytechnic with a diploma in boiler making.

He was driving a fancy Lexus vehicle and he was buying turkey feed whilst I was buying de-worming tablets for my goats. In Harare he stays in Tynwald South where he built a house. Now here is a shocker…the youngster is only 24!

The transformation

It dawned upon the youngster that he had no relatives in the capital to offer him accommodation or financial support. He was on his own in the capital! Some of his peers were job hunting and some having turned to vending on the streets of Harare. Some had trekked to the diaspora.

What next?                                                                                     

The only last thing that came to his mind mashoko ababa vake ekuti simba rehove ririmumvura ( the power of a fish is in the water) meaning our roots kumusha, if we think fast ndokunobva financial freedom!

Tried to do fish farming but faced water challenges due to low rainfalls. Tried a hand on cattle rearing but there were no sufficient pastures. End of the road? Not really…

Then he attended a 1 day workshop on beekeeping costing US$5.00 and was empowered for life.

 So he headed to his rural home,  kwakucheka miti and mapuranga kwakugadzira mikoko 50 and kwakuuya kuHarare kwakutenga maold pallets kwakunogadzira mikoko.

He now has 300 beehives and all he did was to buy wax or namo yekuisa mumikoko  and as we speak he literally has thousands! Hold on- thousands? Yes he has bees working for him lol

Harvesting

Harvesting takes place every 2,5 months or 4 times per year.

Each beehive gives him 40 litres of honey but he can only harvest half and leaving the remainder.

Each beehive therefore gives him 80 litres of honey.

Wholesale price of honey ranges from US$2-US$5.00.

Do the maths

His revenue is a minimum of US$160 per beehive to a maximum of US$400 per year.

Now do the rest of the maths on how much revenue he gets per annum!

Future Plans

Does it now maketh business sense why he managed to build a home in the capital at such a tender age? At what age did you build your first home?

The business does not require much labour unlike other business ventures and the youngster has plans to go fully commercial and increase the number of beehives to 1000. Who says rural areas are outposts of poverty?

We end by quoting a leading entrepreneur from Kadoma, Mr Low who says;

Financial freedom haineyi nekuita degree it’s just basic education and common sense!

Here is our copy of the latest news letter for download and your viewing pleasure. Features the latest developments in the forum such as discussions and tours.

So how do you move huge volumes of your products through leading retail shops? Dont you think this question should have been part of your high school topics? Getting an assignment to approach local shops and engaging them in pushing your products?

Worry not if you missed this at high school and college. Our forum recently tackled this important area and we had brilliant responses which we feature below;

Frank Mzondiwa What I know is you need to have

A registered company with tax clearance

Barcode your products

Quality packaging

And also your products should have a huge probability of being bought.

So it’s best to start with small supermarkets until you have a huge clientele so as to convince the buyer that your products will move than just to waste space on the shelves

Harry Nyakatonje Good rapport with the buyers, products should be of good quality,if u need licensing or registration do so,be tax compliant,have capacity to replicate the orders they want in as many branches….be able to be consistent….don’t push for cash,hear out their terms….some prefer that u leave a product then they pay u later to reduce risk on their side….to reduce risk on your side employ merchandisers and brand ambassadors,run promos so that the shop sells more and u have good turnover …. repeat until u no longer have to introduce yourself……don’t be greedy if let’s say u supply oranges ,u run out of stock,take your friend’s orange if they make the cut for consistency

Above all be good with people,it doesn’t matter u own a farm,a company ,the latest SUV ,neat suits…… Be humble ,wear the perfume of the buyer to fall in their favor….you don’t have to bribe but be accommodating , professional and friendly

On large chain store remember they are big ,head office centralises buying power so be ready for beaurcracy and redtape, patience is needed .You may be lucky to be given cash,they may ask for your last price ,don’t lower your price at once,flinch a little ,hold your ground,tell them to make an offer and top something on that offer knowing it’s in your comfort zone, effective negotiation skill.I know most things are going paperless but at least have a name ,a receipt book, invoice book etc

Know your numbers and product.. .do not be like a fly by night… people will undervalue you….know in figures how much u can produce and supply….if there is a possibility of venture capital or franchise….we all have seen OK Pot “o”gold products…. sometimes they want it to carry their name coming from your factory….if u sell strawberries know what strawberries do,how to best preserve etc…..carry samples …hapana anoda kunzi mastrawberry ekwa OK haana taste.

Mohamed Adam You need to be prepared to give credit unless its a product that they see does well for them, they then pay you on delivery. In today’s economic system, i would not advise one to start with trying to get their products in these shops, buy the time they pay you, your money would have halved in real money.

The initial inquiry on state capture in South Africa claimed the scalp of an unlikely suspect-KPMG! So as the nation reviews the damning audit reports by the Auditor General, one of the questions we should be asking is ‘Who audited NSSA? What role did they play in the plunder of public resources? We fully appreciate the critical role of auditors and the limitations on fraud detection and reporting. But how far are they liable in cases where rampant corruption would have been unearthed and yet their opinions could be at variance with what would be on the ground?

Looking at NSSA, the public may be interested in knowing the composition of the audit committees at the institution. What was their role? Who were the internal audit members? Were they getting salaries? How was the corporate governance culture at the institution?

Zeroing in on the finance department-who are or were the finance directors? What are their qualifications and experience? Which accounting and auditing bodies do they belong to? Did they follow their professional ethical standards? Are professional accounting and auditing bodies going to sanction their members implicated in various fraud cases perpetrated at various entities across the country?

Around this time last year, 3 local NGOs had their funding cut by a leading humanitarian organisation. One of the directors of the organisation publicly defended her organisation saying they had recently conducted an external audit where their books were determined to be clean or unqualified. Who were the auditors of these organisations? Critically, who were managing the finances?

Are audit clerks remunerated enough? How are auditing firms handling the undue pressure on their staff to be corrupt? Do they have reporting mechanisms for stakeholders to report and bring evidence of corruption?

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Zimbabwe is responsible for the training of local auditors, they also register auditing firms. How far is the institute going in terms of professional development and protecting the integrity of the profession?

Are they aware of the challenges and limitations in the profession? How are they responding to some of their members implicated in corruption? Do they ever solicit for input from members of the public?

The same applies to all finance professional bodies such as the Institute of Internal Auditors, ACCA, CIMA and CIS. Are they following developments in the country? Are they aware that some of their members could be facilitating fraud? Are they taking disciplinary action?

The accounting profession is well known for integrity..it is responsible for the stewardship of resources for shareholders, the government and tax payers. To what extend should the public rely on their work? How genuine are audit reports from Zimbabwe?

We expect all finance professionals to self introspect and review ethical guidelines. We hope to see action from all auditing firms reviewing how they conduct business and protecting the image of the profession.

We look forward to seeing ICAZ being hauled before the parliamentary committee and answering various questions pertaining to their members and audit firms. If the auditors of NSSA issued clean audits despite the rot at the organisation, then they too are liable. They should be penalised and forced to return back all audit fees plus a hefty fine. Some may need to be deregistered in order to send a clear warning!

A discussion within our forum on the issue showed that the rot in the auditing profession has reached alarming levels. Auditors in the country are easy to bribe with some offered free air tickets or jobs for sweeping corruption under the carpet and issuing clean audit reports. One wonders what would have happened had the Auditor General Office not carried out second audits?

How many have mechanisms to review -audits? Just how reliable are audited statements from Zimbabwe? As the country fights corruption, we need all those found guilty caged plus restoration of integrity of the accounting and auditing profession.

This is a sensitive area but South Africa did it and all audit firms are now wary of the risks associated with unprofessional behaviour. We need to start talking loudly about the rot in the sector in order to restore confidence.

We go back to our initial question-who signed off the financial statements at NSSA? Which accounting or auditing professional bodies do they belong to? Who audited them? Is the audit  firm fit to remain operational? What steps is ICAZ going to take?

Food for thought.

In this article, we share experiences of starting and running a business in Zimbabwe. It is not easy to rent commercial properties without hurdles. Here is an account from one of our members.

Iam a Warren Park boy, born and raised in Highfields and later on moved to Warren Park.

So one day at Mereki, met a youngster from the hood-Tinashe and we started reminiscing the good old days.

Our thoughts got deeper and we started asking why we were spending money at Mereki? Why not collect money instead? Who was collecting all the mula at Harares premier entertainment spot?

So in 2010, we identified a place in Mufakose and entered into a partnership. The place which had been closed had little value so rental for the bottlestore and butchery was pegged at US$600.

Our strategies
1) Mereki was popularised by the late chairman of Dembare(Nhekairo)..after every match, he took Dembare to Warren Park and soon fans trekked to the place. So as outsiders, our joint needed community ownership. We formed a boozers soccer club…bought soccer kits and after every match they would troop to our place with a crate available for free. This was the master stroke….overnight our joint became popular.
2) Spruced up the place…new paint, gazebo, braai stands etc! In the ghetto they appreciate good things…add a bit of class and u have more followers.
3) Experience Economy: At Mereki we have ladies who braai meat such as the popular Mai George but our model was not to copy and paste Mereki in totality…we had seen that at Highglen men enjoyed braaing own meat, drinking and discussing stories…basically whiling away time whilst networking. Its a pity Old Mutual banned the guy who had brought the concept…so we adopted a working model and boom….what a magic bullet! 
4) Hararians love good parking space…Mereki, Zindoga and Highglen…we were fortunate to have plenty of this at our place!
5) Providing music works against experience economy…many want the freedom to play own music. So we balanced this by only hiring a professional dj during weekends.

Results?
Revenue jumped from USD1,000 to USD25,000 per month in 6 months. So popular was the place that we literally became the entertainment place of choice in Mufakose. Sons and daughters who had moved North of Samora started trekking back….Ko kuGhetto ndokune yese ka? Ghetto fabulous….Mfombi crew never disappoint.

Our catchment or area of influence included Kambum, Warrenz, Budaz, Crowborough and others.

Place to chill with others whilst enjoying good stories…soccer, economy (we avoided politics)

Then…
We didnt have a formal lease agreement, the owner had refused. Then one day he came to the place and we saw him beaming with a smile.

‘Vafana zvirikuitaka? Tikati yes mdara….zvikanzi good makapenga vafana vangu. Tikati tinotenda mdara.

Zvikanzi eeeh but rent sevanhu vakuita mari svitsai pa thaza…

We signed and paid …a small dent on the balancesheet and income statement.

We continued on our upward trajectory then 3rd month takuda kunobhadara rent….up to USD 1800. Fourth month up to USD 2400.

You can do the maths of how much he was demanding by the 6th month🤷🏾‍♂

We eventually came to the decision to close down! We could not cope with the calculated plan to chase us from the place we had done so well to spruce up and make a preferred venue of entertainment…

Tinashe decided to fly solo and opened another place at Kambuzuma 2 Shopping centre. I continued to support him but insisted on a long term lease.

Our former clients followed but in the 4th month the owner of the place came and demanded to also sell her alcohol in the same pub!

Yes kuti iwe wotengesa rako doro…ini rangu? How bizarre…

Zvikanzi ukada kuramba ini ndiri politically connected!The message was loud and clear…move out of my place!

Distraught and heartbroken….Tinashe sold everything and closed down. He headed to Kadoma to try his hand with gold mining.

What became of the former places?
The new tenants were attracted by the huge numbers we had built. They didnt know how we had built them nor how we helped sustain them.

They didnt know our experience of seeing Mereki start and grow…they had no connection with the community. They didnt know the community was angry with their take overs…they totally shunned them.

As for me…I vowed never to rent a commercial stand from anyone!

The tobacco selling season is almost coming to an end in the next few weeks and most tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe are swearing never to go back into tobacco production. Production is expected to drop even further next year as reported by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) that seed sales have dropped by 55% as compared to the same time last year 2018. These sentiments have largely been driven by the unstable economy and the ever-changing monetary policies which caused significant losses for most small scale and even large-scale farmers. Off -late horticultural production or rather fresh vegetable production is being spoken about and seems to be on the rise in Zimbabwe. This could be a lucrative alternative.

According to the Ministry of Lands Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural resettlement, fresh vegetable production has grown sharply by 46% in the last 2 years to date. The area under vegetable production has also increased by a staggering 25%. Carrots production has increased by about 85% in 2019, followed closely by our all-time favourite funeral relish as my father used to call it, cabbage at 55%. These figures clearly show that there is a huge demand for fresh produce on the local market and international market and hence I strongly recommend that every farmer with the right capacity should think about growing fresh produce. According to the same report, pea production also increased significantly by 47%, just to shed more light, 98% of the peas produced in Zimbabwe are exported which translates to good profits. However, production for export requires a separate article due to the complexity of the accreditation required which we will talk about in detail in the next article.

You will be surprised at the demand that exists for fresh fruit and vegetables on the Zimbabwean market. You may be selling cabbages from your back yard small garden out of the boot of your car why not commercialise it. A lot of individuals are leasing out pieces of land in and around Harare why not take up the opportunity to expand your small enterprise before you know it, you will be supplying your produce to major retailers in Zimbabwe. There is an English adage which states that the earliest bird catches the worm, this is the right time to invest in vegetable production. Perhaps a few tips to help you plan

1. Have a market – Do not grow anything commercially with no market this may result in huge loses. Talk to your market (e, g supermarkets) ask what you can grow for them, If you can secure a contract the better.
2. Grow your crop out of season, this usually is possible if you have a controlled environment such as a green house. You will get good prices as you are able to sell when product is limited on the market.
3. Have adequate skill, yes, we all have at some point been able to manage a small vegetable garden at home successfully, however in commercial production a significant amount of skill and training is required. Employ someone who is or get the training yourself.
4. Reliability, like any business reputation is everything, one unhappy customer has the power to destroy your significantly damage your business. Supply the agreed quality and amounts at the promised time. Over the years I have seen a lot of good farmers loose lucrative contracts due to greediness and unreliability.

Come and Join us on the 3^rd of August 2019 for our ZBIN meet and greet party in Chitungwiza, Harare Zimbabwe as we discuss and share ideas on more business topics. 

• Emmanuel is a qualified Agronomist with more than a decade’s experience working in the agricultural industry and development sector. You can contact him on edndsep@gmail.com

Article by

Emmanuel D.N Dube

ZIBN Agronomy correspondent