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Diaspora Matters

Business Ideas for Zimbos based in Dubai

by Victor Muchemwa on
dubai

The number of Zimbos in Dubai has been increasing over the past few years. A lot of professionals have been finding jobs in the oil rich Gulf Region. A number of the people who emigrated are looking for opportunities to invest in back home and ZBIN would like to assist them in decision making.

One of the areas to invest in is the Information and Technology  sector; buying and selling IT equipment such as laptops, printers, cellphones etc. Demand in this sector is growing, the number of young adults in Zimbabwe is estimated at 67% and this generation represents a huge market for the products. Most of the products sourced from the region are sold at more than thrice the cost in Dubai. The products can be sourced cheaply in bulk in the Middle East Region.

How to do it?

Partner with locals who put in 50% stake in the business ‘never partner with anyone who is not putting in an equal share especially in the current environment’. Get a formal partnership and ship in these goods for sale in the country. Be of course wary of the fluctuations in the forex exchange and price your products accordingly.

Do not just plunge into the business without enough market surveys and business researches especially on the import duties charged.

We wish our hard working cousins in the Gulf States success as they analyse investment options back home.

 

 

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South Africa Information Technology Opportunities for Indians

by Victor Muchemwa on
bey

Our forum is India friendly as we have a lot of members and followers in India. We often get a lot of inquiries from the country especially about opportunities in South Africa. Below is an article about opportunities in the IT sector of South Africa, hoping that it helps in understanding the sector better.

This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.

Last Published: 8/2/2017

Overview
Unit: ZAR billions
2014
2015
2016
2017
Total Market Size
67
74.2
78.8
83.3
Hardware sales
26.1
29.1
29.5
29.2
Software sales
16
16.7
18
19.7
Services sales
25.8
28.2
31.2
34.3
*BMI Industry Report 2017 Q1 Sales
Data Sources:  Above figures are unofficial estimates obtained from industry sources.

South Africa has one of the largest information technology markets in Africa by value. It shows technological leadership in the mobile software field, security software as well as electronic banking services. As an increasingly important contributor to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP), the country’s ICT and electronics sector is both sophisticated and developing. Several international corporates operate subsidiaries from South Africa, including IBM, Unisys, Microsoft, Intel, Systems Application Protocol (SAP), Dell, Novell and Compaq. It is seen as a regional hub and a supply base for neighboring countries.

South Africa’s ICT products and services industry is penetrating the fast-growing African market. South African companies and locally based subsidiaries of international companies have supplied most of the new fixed and wireless telecoms networks established across the continent in recent years.

The South African Government and the Financial sector continue to be the largest player when it comes to IT spending. Private consumption will rise, but the strong growth of smartphones is likely to offset PC and laptop usage. The depreciated rand could also be responsible for tablets outselling notebooks, a less expensive piece of hardware. It is a strongly regionalized market, due to a lack of inter-city connectivity and infrastructure in parts of the country (rural areas) and it is very price sensitive. However, improvements to network infrastructure and adoption of cloud services and smart infrastructure will see this changing. There is a trend towards greater innovation in applications used for HR and payroll to increase operational efficiencies.

Leading U.S. companies such as Microsoft are elevating South Africa into the lead group of countries for new product releases reflecting the growing importance of the market and the region. Intel launched its Software and Services Group in South Africa in 2015. In March 2016, IBM announced that they were opening a new IBM Cloud Data Centre in Johannesburg. IBM will provide clients with a complete portfolio of cloud services. This is the result of close collaboration with South African, 100% black owned firm Gijima and Vodacom and is designed to support cloud adoption and customer demand across the continent.
This again demonstrates the willingness of foreign companies to invest in this market and use the local skills force to penetrate the market and the region.

Sub-Sector Best Prospects
The major worldwide trend of moving toward cloud based systems is one that has gained momentum in South Africa. The strong entrepreneurial drive within the local IT sector is creating larger demand for cloud based services.

Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and the Internet of Things otherwise known as the smart market is forecast to grow and is a fairly new development globally and not just in South Africa.

In South Africa, the focus of projects relating to the IoT mainly concentrates on connecting all South African citizens to the internet. Many metropolitans are creating free Wi-Fi hubs enabling access to the internet, especially in the townships, enabling those citizens that cannot afford the high data costs to improve their connectivity via free Wi-Fi hotspots. The demand for wireless connectivity has grown by roughly 19% within a year as there are now about 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots around the country. Research released by iPass, a global WiFi company indicated that there was one Wi-Fi hotspot for every 6160 South Africans, far below the global average of one per 150 people. As this smart technology market is fairly new, it is forecast to grow bringing with it opportunities to connect via the requisite hardware, software and security systems.

Software
Business software spending may be driven by customer-centric industries such as retail, financial and telecoms, where businesses are recognizing that solutions can be a competitive differentiator. Cloud-based software products are expected to drive growth. This sub-sector is still hampered by piracy and it is estimated by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) that around 35% of installed software in SA is illegal. The need for security products is growing with company spends increasing to about 8% of the total IT budget. The higher end of South Africa’s software market has matured and companies are price sensitive and cautious about investing in new technologies.

E-commerce and related software is showing growth with South African online stores showing the number of online shoppers increased significantly year-on-year.

Broadband access continues to improve due to investments in submarine and terrestrial fiber-optic networks which have increased capacity and coverage. This will continue to be an important factor for spending in this sector.

Smart Cities
South Africa is the leader when it comes to smart city technology in Africa. South African cities recognize that the benefits of smart cities are wide ranging, affecting a broad spectrum of industries and making life easier for residents in a multitude of ways. South African cities: Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban are taking the lead with various smart city initiatives and have put into operation some variants of smart city solutions. These cities are open to explore innovative technologies and best practices that are currently been implemented in first world countries.

South Africa understands the need for smart cities and the benefits of thereof relating to country-wide improvements. Quality of life expectations and implementation of best practices across different industries is a fervent goal that pushes for private and public sector cooperation. The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) promotes Innovation in Local Government and encourages a mindset of innovation in municipalities nationwide. SALGA’s role is to collect and disseminate knowledge on innovation, to encourage learning, and facilitate the replication of successful practices in different municipalities. Innovation creates connections among communities, government, the private sector and civil society seeking innovative ways to meet social needs. The SALGA captures the essence of South Africa’s country-wide effort.

A number of challenges still stand in the way of smart cities becoming a reality in South Africa. Along with underdeveloped infrastructure, an even more troubling obstacle is the skills deficit. This is a particularly vexing hindrance to the advancement of smart cities nationally, requiring well-trained, tech-savvy individuals who understand and can use IT systemsThe City of Cape Town has made some notable progress with a digital integrated Transport system, implementing a SAP-ERP system which was globally recognized for a visionary use of IT by Computer World Honors 21 Century Achievement Award. Another critical component of making the City of Cape Town Smart City ready, was the decision to build a fibre optic network to connect City buildings and the citizens of the City. The ongoing roll out has connected 300 buildings with over 800km of fibre and a target of 600 buildings and 1300km of fibre to be reached by 2021. This enables the City to share information across departments and capture data to prioritize services.

The City Johannesburg enables residents to digitally report any infrastructure faults and encourages use of smart metering to eliminate non-collection electricity bills.

Cybersecurity
As the Internet of Things (IoT) or connected devices grows in popularity so the threat of cyber hacks/attacks increases and with this comes opportunity for cybersecurity related to these products. According to PWC, March 2016, 32% of respondent organizations in South Africa were victims of cybercrime with 16% not knowing if they were victims or not. Only 35% had a cyber incidence response plan. If only 35% had cyber incidence response plans there may be opportunity to consult for the other 65%.

Opportunities
There are opportunities within organizations looking for assistance in utilizing efficiencies from cloud computing such as Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service. Cloud computing is becoming more important due to improved bandwidth availability, security and lowered cost of broadband, as well as additional internet providers competing in the market. According to Business Monitor International, areas of opportunity for cloud computing include banking and retailing. Cloud computing growth has also resulted in increased investments in data centers and related infrastructure.
  • There have been high profile cyber-attacks and hacks on financial, utility and even political parties. Due to the increase in Web traffic there will be increased demand for IT security products and software within most sectors.
  • As the Internet of Things (IoT) or connected devices grows in popularity so the threat of cyber hacks/attacks increases and with this comes opportunity for cybersecurity related to these products. According to PWC, March 2016, 32% of (reported) organisations in South Africa were victims of cybercrime with 16% not knowing if they were victims or not. Only 35% had a cyber incidence response plan.
Web Resources
For More Information, the U.S. Commercial Service, South Africa can be contacted via email:
Kirsten.Bell@trade.gov;
Phone: +27 (0)21 702 7345;
Or visit our Website.

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.

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Diaspora Matters

Weekly Update: Bitcoin Week

by Victor Muchemwa on
23167958_1573802825991256_471416870512361389_n

The reception for the forum in Lesotho last week was awesome, we found the Basotho waiting for us at the border – the journey had been postponed several times. Initially the Basotho were supposed to come to Harare for training in August for a regional training but they cancelled at the last minute- they feared human trafficking!

Someone warned the 5 nationals to be wary of human trafficking and the 5 people who had gathered to come to Zim understandably developed cold feet! Someone without enough information about the country did a good job to discourage people from travelling to Zimbabwe.

So other countries did send representatives for training in Harare except Lesotho. We had Malawi, Botswana, Swaziland, South Africa coming for training except the Mountain Kingdom. So the trip to Lesotho was a special one as they got to appreciate that the forum is a legit forum and we just love empowerment!

Hospitable treatment in Maseru and we hope to carry out more follow ups because we would like to see the success of our training. The lady in the picture has already registered a company! A great success as we influence the formation of companies in Southern Africa- we already have Mpumalanga Real Queens in Action company and this one called PCEE Tapestry becomes a Zim inspired company.

The reason of forming companies is simple- to be taken seriously, to access funding and grow! The good thing about Lesotho- is that there are a lot of funding opportunities and just like Zim the problem is most people do not know about them. We had to show trainees various funding opportunities from bodies such as BEDCO. We had more information on Opportunities than locals? The message is government should review how they communicate with citizens, few now read newspapers especially the young generation. They should critically review the effectiveness of various media platforms and ensure a consolidated strategy of communication. If people in cities fail to know of opportunities written in newspapers, how about the rural folk? This applies to all governments in Southern Africa

Platform Review
Facebook is now providing group statistics a good yardstick of measuring forum effectiveness. Our forum top posts are attracting an average of 4,000 views per day! A great achievement for the prime forum formed to discuss business opportunities. Add to this the 5,000 unique monthly visitors to our website and this is great news. We however hope to use Facebook Boosting and reach out to millions of Africans in the coming months. The buzz thing in Africa is Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurship- if you have no message on Entrepreneurship then your relevance is at stake! So having succeeded on the group in Zim and expanding to the region, in the coming months expect us to go continental…..great opportunities await Zim Entreprenuers, so keep watching the space.

What’s Up?
Bitcoin, Bitcoin and more Bitcoin. We will share more information and also create a group on Bitcoin.

Wishing you a blessed week.

Ntate Victor

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Supporting Enterprising Ladies

by Victor Muchemwa on
22861732_1565182743519931_7375149659050799096_o

Val is one of the ladies we trained on making carpets a moth ago. During the training she teamed up with another lady and formed a formidable joint venture. The 2 have not looked back since starting their business and they are busy making carpet centre rugs, toilet sets and bedside rugs.

We urge you to support them and you can get in touch with Val and get in touch with her  on +971567406950/+263772662709

Carpet rug made by Val
Finished carpet

 

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Free Digital Marketing Book for Download

by Victor Muchemwa on
digital

Master digital marketing and you would have opened doors to endless opportunities! Our forum has been debating on what is more important-start up capital or market? The winner from the debate has been market. If you get a market then getting capital is going to be easy. Take for example Dr Strive Masiyiwa, when he won a telecommunication tender in Botswana which led to the creation of MASCOM, he did not have a lot of money-not enough money to fully implement the project. His team traveled from Zimbabwe to Botswana by road-his competitors flew in private jets. After winning the tender then capital flowed in!

So the message is if you have a market then you are slightly richer than someone with a lot of capital. If you have a market then consider partnerships, joint ventures, crowdfunding etc. This forum can even connect you with members with capital if you have a market and a viable business plan.

Below we have a Digital Marketing book for download.

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Opportunities for Zimbos in Maseru

by Victor Muchemwa on
maseru

A trip from Joburg to Maseru costs R250. You can choose to go directly by road with kombis or go the longer route of going to Bloemfontein and then connect to Maseru. We chose the longer route and were not disappointed. Maseru the capital city of Lesotho is located right at the border with SA, you cross the border and immidiately cross into the Capital City….its like Harare situated at Beitbridge!

The city is clean and resembles Kigali, perhaps Kigali a little higher on cleanliness ranking but in terms of being a hilly city-Yebo, the city looks like Kigali.

Zimbo Opportunities:
1.A lot of construction coming up especially in medium to low density areas-chance for contruction companies from Zim to check out on more opportunities.

2.Telecoms sector-Dr Strive Masiyiwa is already there through Econet Lesotho-they have the same logo and Ecocash exists too. They had introduced a new innovation-looks like they are doing well.
3.Publishing- Remember Basildon Peta? He is a publisher there of a popular weekly-Lesotho Times.
4. Zimbos into buying and selling- We are popular there, involved in arts and crafts plus some are now into buying stuff from SA and selling in Lesotho. They have become residence that side and only coming to Zim at the end of the year.

New Developments:
There are changes to the import and registration of goods from SA especially in relation to clearing agencies use. A chance for Sons and Daughters of the soil to explore this area.

What else?

Highly recommend the IT sector review-unlimited opportunities. ZBIN is also spearheading the production of carpets because the country produces top quality wool which they export to China…ZBIN is saying, be an exporter of carpets rather than wool-create local jobs first before shipping wool abroad.

The people there very friendly, hard working and one can easily fit in. Their local currency easily changeable with the Rand, infact its slightly stronger than the Rand.

Accomodation
Had expected to pay R300 or thereabouts like in Bloemfontein but was suprised with R500 up to R900 range at a modest lodge.

MMM
Surprising to note that the ponzi scheme which collapsed in Zim in Dec 2016 was still around and had collapsed the previous week-not for the first time but for the second time. Most know its a ponzi scheme but still they joined anyway.

Malawi Rice
Our trainer from Durban had brought Masawu, Sis Nelly could have purchased from Joburg but they proved popular. We checked on knowledge of Malawi Rice and confirmed that they do not know about this delicacy from Malawi. Hoping to bring some sample next time we make follow ups.

Verdict
Visit Lesotho and find out opportunities on the ground.

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Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation Opportunities

by Victor Muchemwa on
bed

One of our objectives is to ensure that our members have access to information on available opportunities in their areas. As a regional platform, we have a vibrant Basotho Community on Facebook as well as on Whatsapp and would like to share with our members some of the opportunities from BEDCO, The Basotho Entreprise Development Corporation. Below we feature an advert from BEDCO and encourage our members to apply.

We are pleased to partner with Standard Lesotho Bank in hosting expo extended sessions for SMEs at the recently launched enterprise hub. This world class hub will house at least 30 registered start-up exhibitors who will receive an intense and intimate session on various aspects of the business development including finance, marketing&branding, legal and public speaking.

Register for a fully funded stall with BEDCO to be eligible for this great opportunity. Limited stalls available. Call 22216100 to secure your stall.

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Lesotho Training In Pictures

by Victor Muchemwa on
lop

We had a fabulous training in Maseru over the weekend and this must rank as one of our best Tapestry Training to date. The Basotho are serious about business and did not disappoint. It was interesting to note that knitwork is done during primary school and this gives them a competitive edge when it comes to making carpets. The country also exports wool to countries such as China. In future there will be no need for exporting raw materialsthey should export finished products such as shaggy carpets.

Training Objectives:

  1. Develop successful business women
  2. Facilitate the formation of registered entities such as companies and non for profit organisations
  3. Creation of platforms that enable sharing of business opportunities information such as ZBIN
  4. Assistance with corporate sponsorship
  5. Appreciating local opportunities and promotion of networking
  6. Unlocking value through digital marketing

All of the above objectives being anchored on Carpet Making or Tapestry and below we feature photos of what transpired.

 

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Direct Bus Transport from Harare to Beira

by Victor Muchemwa on
bhazi

Here is good news for Hararians interested in exploring business opportunities in the coastal city of Beira. There is now a direct bus that leaves Harare every morning and arriving in Beira in the evening. The bus is mostly used by business people-those into exports and imports.

The bus is Trip Trans and operates on all days except Saturday. Their details are as follows:

Harare: 773986769/0733 019 550

Beira : +258 847387470/+258 844860711

The Bus Fare is $20 from the Capital to the Indian Ocean.

ZBIN witnessed some entreprising Hararians loading the bus with Zimbabwean made goods which also included carrots-witnessed 7 bags of carrots in the bus.

Do not miss our group tour of the coastal city which is coming in early December. We would like to explore opportunities that exist in Mozambique as a group and now that buses are available, this increases are travelling options.

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Start a Paw Paw Business

by Victor Muchemwa on
Paw Paw

Three years ago I met someone selling paw paw plants, he convinced me to buy  plants for $5 each. He said the plants would take 3 years to grow and provide good returns. I grudgingly parted with my $15 and not convinced that the small plants would grow and let alone produce produce good fruits.

A few months later i was to regret not buying more paw paw trees. The ones i had bought went on to do so well that i regretted not following instructions because i had been told to apply fertilizer to them and ensure that they are watered on a regular basis. Despite not paying close attention to them-the plants defied the the odds and did extremely well. Iam now on the hunt for more trees but regretting why i did not buy at least 50 trees. Iam sure by now i should be filling lorries with paw paws for sale.

So you too can try the paw paw business.You can buy plants or seeds of paw paws at the next nursery that you come across in town.If you are buying seeds, germination takes 15 days with flowering happening in 3 months and harvesting in 7 months. The plants have a life span of 3 years provided you take good care such as watering and applying fertilizer.

 

 

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