Diaspora Matters

Last week there was a special occasion of business graduates in town, they were not ordinary graduates  but extra ordinary graduates with special skills and technical expertise on managing businesses in an increasingly complex environment. They are graduates equipped with skills  to join any company or organisation and excel in their roles. Some are or will be accountants, some business consultants, some journalists, some marketing executives…some practically everything.

We welcome the graduation of the Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) last week especially those that completed the gruelling course to become ACMAs, CGMAs or those that become fellows of the institute FCMA. I remember getting an ACMA, CGMA badge and being told to wear it with pride! We have to give credit to the British for a powerful and relevant business qualification that is in demand the world over! The forum is going to cover some of the top topics that comes from the institute and apply them to the local or regional context.

So Refreshing

We were at another church event this morning and what a refreshing experience. In my case, i was at peace with my soul and thoroughly enjoyed everything that took place, the sermon and of course our action on business presentation. All credit goes to Mr T Mudede who also happens to be my brother in law. He did not know of my role at ZBIN and only got to be shocked when he realised that mukuwasha was representing a popular business forum.

The church is increasingly taking an interest in business and this is encouraging, information on business opportunities is filtering through although we are yet to see any church member who has benefited from government funds such as the Export Funds, Cross Border/Homelink  or Command Mining.

Our objective was of changing the mindset on business, identifying business opportunities that are not visible to others and ensuring that the church is organised and ready for emerging opportunities! We have follow up trainings including train the trainer courses so that churches can communicate and organise entrepreneurship packages for their congregants. The United Methodist Church became the fourth church we have covered this year bringing the tally of congregants we have reached to more than 1,500, not bad in a city with a population of 2 million. We should reach out to at least 10,000 before the end of the year since the launch of the programme in April 2016.

Live from Botswana

Our team was in Gaberone in Botswana and we got off to a good start, do expect more updates on what we are doing that side as we carry with the gospel of entrepreneurship and empowerment. We will be in South Africa next week  where we have a number of trainings line up in at least 4 cities.

Whats Up this Week

1. More local trainings-we have also received an invite from a DRC Delegation that visited out offices on Friday. We will follow up on the invite and ensure that we cover the country in future.
2. Volunteers – They say for capacity building to be effective, it has to be demand driven. You cannot just go to a small business owner and say you would like to train them. There will be no ownership nor commitment the program-instead, let them define what they want and the deliver. This is the approach we will be using with the train the trainers course for local churches.
3. Young Entrepreneurs-We have been asked the question on young entrepreneurs several times. We are slowly building up the momentum on young entrepreneurs and any follower of our church presentations should see that they are designed with youths in mind. We have more exciting programs coming up that we will share with you once the design is complete.
4. Website Page-our website zbinworld.com to be redesigned and include a section on Opportunities. Your chance to showcase opportunities available in the country and the region. If you have a business opportunity then be on the lookout on updates related to this.
5. More Facebook Lives-Expect 2 or 3 Facebook lives during the week.

Wishing you a productive and blessed week

Wa Mdala

Tomorrow the forum will be in Sunningdale in Harare where we will be doing a business presentation at the Methodist Church at 12:00am. A great opportunity for us to help the christian community with business skills especially on identifying opportunities in an increasingly tough environment. Our focus will be on women and youths and we hope to make positive impact that will result in many having a positive attitude to business and starting their own business. This is our fourth church business presentation after presenting at ZAOGA (twice), Holiness Rivival and Salvation Army churches.

We would like to thank StartApp Biz for linking us with the church through Mr Mudede. We share this presentation in advance so that members can follow through our presentation by downloading the presentation in advance.

With the economy in the state it is in, the key story becomes business! It is not a coincidence that business leaders met the Head of the State during the week. It is all systems business as the business sector, the NGO and Government all turn their focus on business. The country needs to fix business concerns because they affect every facet of life, business is at the centre of everything in Zim.

Fail to fix business and politicians will be in trouble, just look closely at current political rallies. Fadzai Mahere conducted business trainings in her constituency and it was well attended, Zanu Pf this week introduced a poultry scheme and guess what they also introduced? They introduced business training to complement the poultry scheme.

A number of NGOs have been flighting adverts on Facebook and they are targeting one key area-Business! You see, you cannot talk of HIV and Aids success if business is going southwards, you cannot talk of success of a climate interventions when people do not have jobs.

Fabulous stuff has been done in sectors such as HIV and Aids where HIV prevalence has been reduced, the number of deaths reduced but guess what? If the sector continues with the same approach they have been using, the same methodology or strategy then they are missing a big mark. If you have no business in your interventions then you are telling a tired story!

If you are doing things the same way you have been doing over the past few years, then you got a tired story. The church is not left too, business discussions, business presentations are increasingly finding their ways onto the pulpit too. You cannot talk of gospel in the current set up and completely ignore business.

Churches that are going to be successful are those that read the current mood and environment-if it is not business then its a tired story ! Bishop TD Jakes met His Excellency yesterday and the report in The Herald talks more of business than anything, he met a Christian delegation where they were discussing business, he called for cooperation between Zimbabwe and the US Business sector. The story is unmistakably business. He came to the country for Business!
We have Kwese Tv coming onto the scene and it is likely to take the country by storm, one of the reasons is due to the fact that they have interesting Business Channels. A lot of entrepreneurship stuff that will sway viewers in their favour.

Current DSTV programs have little or nothing on business-they have failed to read the mood, they have failed to read the challenges on the ground. For this reason, iam switching to Kwese when it becomes available. ZTV has a good number of programs on entrepreneurship-unfortunately they use the same tired approach of getting a few people in the studio to talk about business. Sometimes they interview successful business people….hardly inspiring stuff, the producers just like at DSTV definitely out of touch with reality.

Strive Masiyiwa gets millions of views per post on a weekly basis why? Simple –he represents business, he represents entrepreneurship! Africa is searching for entrepreneurship heroes and heroines-what is happening to Zim is not unique, our regional programmes have shown an increase in appetite for small businesses in countries such as Malawi, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, South Africa and Lesotho. Everyone has business on their lips, jobs are increasingly becoming tougher to get in the region. Its record high unemployment in Botswana, Namibia hit too…ask for evidence from Zimbos failing to obtain permits or renew them in these countries. They can no longer host foreign nationals on their soil-they must go back from where they came from.

So Strive Masiyiwa Business, Fadzai Mahere Business, TD Jakes Business, The Church Business, Political Parties Business…Everyone Business, the question becomes –what are you doing business wise?

Political Parties:

If you have no solid business demonstrable business models, then cry no foul when you get hit at the polls. When the economy faces challenges those promising and with solid strategies usually get the support of the populace. It is not about lying to people (Zw is an educated nation). It is about practical

TV Stations:

Dstv thought they are an entertainment company and have been dishing infor to us without a lot of consultations. They have been failing to read the mood on the ground where population dynamics are changing with a lot of youngsters having no formal jobs and therefore in search of new opportunities.

Private Companies:
You may be Delta or Old Mutual working in an economy where opportunities are limited for young people, consider business training and opportunities as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), this will make you relevant to the current environment. This applies to a lot of entities that are around town, if you are leaving business aside then you are missing the mark!

NGOs:

Strategies in the NGO world are usually fixed and not flexible. If your corporate agreement say you shall deliver 10,000 condoms then you must deliver 10,000 condoms. There is rarely room to negotiate nor discuss changes in the operating environment and tailor make programmes that suit the needs of people on the ground. It is this inflexibility that will render most NGO interventions ineffective-fail to read the mood, fail to adjust and your results may not be as effective.

Churches: Bishop TD Jakes just showed you the new way –business and religion, i need to repeat!

So the story is business, scripted in business and ends in business-ignore business at your own peril.

The Mozambiue Trade Fair ended last week and what a success! A lot of participants from across the world with South America (Brazil), Europe and Asia sending representatives. Our cousins from South of Limpopo were there too as is the norm.

How did Zim fare? The answer is Pathetic! We only had  3 representatives, 2 people from the SME Ministry and a small arts and crafts rep! Now this is unacceptable for a country that is facing serious forex shortages. This is a national embarrassment especially at this juncture where the buzz word in local business is serious export business.

Where was ZIMTRADE? This entity which recently won a continental award should consider returning it! How on earth we failed to send representatives to  this important event is mind boggling. Big business bodies such as the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) should also take the blame for the failure to fully represent the nation at this important business event.

Maybe we are being too harsh on them, Zimbabwe has never taken Mozambique seriously when it comes to business. The number one problem is perception-almost everyone views Mozambique as a poverty stricken country that is largely dependent on aid. The second problem is the language barrier. Portuguese seem to be a barrier to doing business in the neighbouring country. As a result, many a company prefer English destinations when it comes to business. There is need for a change in attitude if we are to succeed in business in that country-we have to learn Portuguese!

South Africans are all over the country looking for untapped business potential, Our Nigerian brothers are there too-travelling thousands of kilometres to reach the country, our friends from China are there too busy extracting natural resources. If other nationalities who do not speak Portuguese are flocking to Moz  then we have not excuse for the language barrier!

Mozambique Opportunities

Tourism: Tourism is picking up and the sector presents many opportunities to serious investors

Agribusiness: A growing area as agriculture production expands in the vast country

Construction: It is picking up in areas such as Maputo and a number of Zimbo companies are involved.

Education: The increased migration of Non Portuguese speaking people is creating avenues for English Speaking educational institutions

Zimbo Community Services: The Zimbo community in Mozambique is increasing everyday resulting in the community requiring services such as money transfers which are currently pricey.

The list of opportunities is endless and all that is needed is a positive mindset and a good grasp of the Portuguese language. We sincerely hope that next year our country will have better representation at this important business fair.

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One of our objectives is to help members with free business opportunities information. We realized that there are a lot of people with access to credit or capital but lacking knowledge of what to invest in. Some end up investing in over flooded sectors which may not be profitable. One of our chief objectives is  therefore to assist members and followers with business opportunities in Southern Africa.

Today we cover a fast developing sector of education. Our last survey showed that the number one priority for most families is education for children! This is the area where most resources are flowing to and helps explain the mushrooming of private schools across Zimbabwe. If you look at an expanding sector in Zim then education is one of them. It starts from primary school, high  school and up to college level. A growing population in urban areas is fueling the growth in investment in this crucial sector of the economy.

Related to education is an important business sector that we feel has room for more entrants. Today we cover stationery business and the story affects all countries where ZBIN has coverage. Most stationery is imported from China where it is sold in bulk at affordable prices.

The Catch

The catch with importing from China is that you need to import in bulk, they prefer bulk orders. Bulk orders mean that you have to put in more funds in the venture as orders may need a minimum of $400 and above.

Solving the situation

One can solve the situation by partnering with others especially a Diaspora Investor looking at areas to invest in.

Practical Example

For practical examples, we urge readers to visit www.alibaba.com or www.made-in-china.com and search Stationery. Do a comparison of prices you find there and local prices. In most cases stationery is being sold 4 to 5 times its cost in China.

Business Plan

Do not just plunge in and order stationery without developing a business plan. Do carry out research on the market, study competitors and assess whether you can make profits.

ZBIN wishes you a blessed weekend

There are a lot of positives that can be learnt by analysing the Somali owned Spaza Shops. First,  the Somalis are hardworking people. In Zimbabwe I used to  see them walking along the Harare-Mutoko Road bound for South Africa. These guys will be having no luggage…Comrades and Friends..these guys will be having absolutely NOTHING in terms of possession. Vanenge vangori mawoko zvavo vachifamba in silence vakananga SA.

We are  not sure where they go to in Harare, but we have  never seen them walking on the stretch of the road  between Harare and Beitbridge. Perhaps they get sponsors in Harare who fund their travel  to South Africa? Perhaps they get cheaper transport to South Africa? We  do not have all the answers but  sometimes  we see them at the Beitbridge Border Post and after that they disappear into South Africa.

The next news I hear about these Somalis is that they would have set up some small shops in South Africa…they would have set up what are called Spaza shops?

Now our  question is who provides them with capital? Why is it other nationals do not dominate the Spaza shops sector in South Africa? Why are Zimbos not opening Spaza shops?

What is the business model that the use which is not being used by other nationals? ZBIN asked this question to our forum and below we cover responses:

Norah Bwanya Vanochengetana vanhu ivavo. other Somalis who ve st base help them out

Shyreen Muringai ii know of nigerians vakabatana zvisingaite vanopanana mabasa and vanomira vese kana zvaoma zve.

Praise Chabona Another thing is some of the Somalis are business pple in their own land. So when they escape from their war zone they leave with cash only thats why when they are walking in other countries other than zimbabwe they travel only at night in fear that they are robbed or even killed. In those other countries they cant even board buses because they get robbed. Its only when they get to Zimbabwe Nyamapanda border they are free to travel whatever time and they sometimes look for shelter/food in pples houses. Some yers back they used to walk to Harare where they are sheltered at a refugee camp in waterfalls. From there they are provided with transport to SA. Since 2013 the Somalis are nolonger allowed to walk from Nyamapanda. A refugee camp has been set up and transport is always ready for them there. 

Gilda Gore Isu hedu maZimbo kungotsikana konzi.noone wants to see the other prosper

Shungs Nemapare Nyumbu Ini my concern is that we are sending the wrong message to the world. African cannot get along without killing each other and so we (first world) need to go in and moniter them and subdue them. Run their countries for them and make them work for us. Once that happens its game over.

Farie Musakasa Kojo zimbos kunyeyana chete zvakaoma

Timothy Bhowa I stayed in Jozi back in 2008 in an area populated mainly by Nigereans and Cameroonians.These guys societies similar to burial societies lyk we find in Zim.They held weekly meetings to update each other on welfare issues- the new arrivals were given assistance,places to stay & assistance to start their own businesses until they cud stand on their own feet.They had a revolving fund to. achieve this.Contrast this with Zimbos.We shun each other and have been so brainwashed so much that we believe that business is not for us.Most us have left for the diaspora to look for jobs,not to start our own ventures nomatter how small.The Nigerian guys would always taunt me each time I went to fax my CVs @ their communication centres. This has stuck on my mind,”You Zimbabweans…you come hear to look for jobs.We(Nigerians) have come to make money.”Nigerans were into the internet business,photocopying,faxing,cellphone repairs etc whilst the Cameroonians had set up food outlets and hair salons.Catch the drift?Naturally Zimbos are selfish and lack the entrepreneurial spirit.

Makadzange Patience MaZimbos tinoitirana godo,handiziwi kuti kumachurch kwatoenda tinonamata chii,hatikwanise kubvunza kuti wasvika sei apa asi kushoorana chete

Praise Chabona I have tried to participate in Saving and lending activites ari kuitwa nesome women around the country but ey! kubirana kwacho kwakaoma. I hope we will change our attitude very soon

Mdala Wa Rue Aaah shame,kubatana kushoma pakati pedu maZimbo…i hope these schemes do not become ma Ponzi Schemes…do u remember what hapened in the mid 90s?

Praise Chabona Some have already proved to be ponzy bcoz in one of the groups kwainzi each member contributes $200/month and the group had 30 members. The administrators made sure that they placed themselves on the 1st positions. Saka ndivo vakatanga kuwana mari vachibva vangoshaikwa.

Miriam Rosalyn Pashapa Zimbabweans if we dnt unite we are going nowhere bt dwn the drain,unonzwa some zimbos even ku UK vaitengesana kuti munhu adzoserwe kumba honestly wat kind of a spirit is that?

Rodwell Maoneke MaZimbabweans hatina kubata,godo, kukara, humbimbindoga,ruvengo the list goes on. Ukawana chaunoziva ukadaidza hama kuti huya tibate pamwe unobirwa kana kuti munhu mangwana anomuka akutoshandisa njere dzako kutotanga zvake even without experience. Ukabatsira nemari haidzoke. From what I heard maSomalians vanobatsirana kuvhura maSpaza shop,unotanga nekushandira aka establisher then ozokubatsirawo kutangazvako.

Mdala Wa Rue Zvakawoma a friend said ndikawona mu Zimbo in SA ndinotarisa kuside even wandinoziva lol. Murikunyanyoitana seiko …tobudirirasei manje. Look at the Naija community in Zim?

Rodwell Maoneke Munhu iye aitaura chokwadi, hunhu hwedu hauna kunaka,get rich quick mentality ndiyo inotiuraya,patients hapana. Mukatanga musika pamwe kana worshop chaiyo pane ku expander zvamatanga umwe anomuka akavhura kake kamusika, ndipo panotangira kunyeyana

Baboons can be a menace to farmers. They can reduce your yield by a high percentage if you are not careful and therefore one needs to manage these animals well when you farm in an area where they exist. Killing baboons in most parts of Zimbabwe is taboo and in most cases one can be fined by a village head for killing them. There are many ways of managing baboon problems and as ZBIN we reached out to the community to help one of our members who was facing a serious baboons problem on his farm.

We cover below some of the responses from the community which may be of assistance to others:

Charles Majoni Go to the parks and wildlife authority…they will issue you with a permit on either translocating the baboons or poisoning because they are being a pest…poisoning permit $20.

Richard Chashamba Get a permit to cull them from National Parks and then donate or sell the meat to people who eat them, the moment they know they are being hunted makudo anochinja nzvimbo

Admire Chihwa Mwasenhu Teya 1, kana varibata tora paint yeRed neye White voripenda, vorisiya, parinoenda kune mamwe aro, anoritiza iro roramba richimhanyira mamwe aro kusvika avakure

Thembani Elmon Jnr F They’re a menace for sure I feel the pain but is poising them a good idea?

Thembani Elmon Jnr F I think the Parks guys have better and human ideas other than mass killing.Imagine 30+ baboons dead at once in an area?Zvinotyisa pachivanhu chedu it might bring karma coz gudo aiwa munhu uya.

Netcle Trish Mhlanga Put realistic scarecrows inoita kunge munhu around it works for some

Nancy Zisengwe Makudo anokuburitsa mubusiness very destructive and stubborn. Haatize vanhukadzi anotomira waiting kutokudzinganisa. One farmer dressed as a woman. He managed to fire at them ari padhuze, killed one. They fled

I have a weakness for gardening, I just love seeing my well kept garden but of late i have been frustrated with the City Council who send me a huge water bill which does not tally with the usage of water at my home. The bill shot up by 400% and it is not making sense at all. Visits to Rowan Martin Building have not yielded positive results as they insist that the bill is legit and that perhaps my water tap could be faulty.

Perhaps they could have seen my green lawn and by default estimated that i could be using a lot of water? But i do have a borehole and therefore something should be grossly wrong with the billing system of the City Council, i wonder how many people have been affected?

Anyway this week we have a free business idea for our members and it has a garden connection! No need to worry about gardeners, no need to worry about high water bills. A good way to cut on gardening costs and it looks fabulous too-dear readers, allow me to introduce to you artificial lawns!

It is currently available in China and costs $5-8 per square metre. You just install it in your garden and not have to worry about any maintenance costs for a couple of years.

If you can demonstrate that this works, if you can highlight the benefits to potential customers, then you may have hit a jackpot! Your customers to be individuals, the corporate sector and sports clubs.

Official description

Artificial turf or artificial lawn is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used for sports that are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well. The main reason is maintenance. Artificial turf stands up to heavy use, such as in sports, and requires no irrigation or trimming. Covered stadiums or shaded residential and commercial areas may require artificial turf because of the difficulty of getting enough sunlight for natural grass to stay healthy.

Advantages

• Maintenance free : Artificial lawn is nearly maintenance free (no watering, no mowing, no fertlising). Ideal for locations when maintenance of lawns is difficult or not practical. Artificial turf can be vacuumed, broom cleaned or hosed over.
• Rugged usage: Artificial turf can withstand significantly more use than natural grass and can therefore be used much more frequently.
• Lush green all round the year: Artificial turf can be a better solution when the environment is particularly hostile to natural grass (example, low light, extremely dry seasons, etc) Artifical lawns stay green all through the year. These are also fade resistant.
• No standing water: As the turf base is porous, it allows water to drain off and water does not stagnate in the lawn.

Below we show you some photos of the artificial lawn.

One of the best assets that a business can possess is ethics. Ethics can determine the sustainability of a business. There is a close relationship between good ethics and the future of a business. Get your ethics culture wrong and this may jeopardise the future of your business.

The definition of business ethics can be summarised as  the study of proper business policies and practices regarding potentially controversial issues, such as corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate social responsibility and fiduciary responsibilities.

Ethics and our website

In March 2016, we advertised for a consultancy for the development of our website. One youngster responded and did a fabulous job in developing our site. There was one problem though, he pulled down the site without notice. When we approached him, he promised to fix the problem. We gave him information to upload onto a new site which he had created. How did he fare this time around? He converted the site to his own, created a Zimbabwe Business Investors Network instead of Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network. We simply ignored him and went on to set up our site with Hostgator and have not had problems since.

The opportunity cost was huge on his part-he lost out on business from our members. We highlighted the fraud he had committed to our thousands of members and he instantly became an enemy of small businesses in Zimbabwe. He went underground-tried to resuscitate his career by engaging us later on. The damage had been done and any attempt to salvage the situation did not help his case.

Someone had possibly paid him to derail our project and the result is that he lost more than what he had been paid! He may have been greedy and decided to convert the site to his own-this again backfired as he lost more than he could gain.

He could easily have gained hundreds of clients from our members and followers. The guy whom we later on engaged ended up getting good contracts including employment with one of the leading donor agencies in the country.

There are a lot of stories concerning ethics and we will cover them in future. The bottom line is just do business the correct and legit way if you are thinking of the long term. Kiya-kiya business can only work in the short run and should be avoided at all costs.

Whats Up this week?

We did well in Lilongwe, trained Malawian nationals who will be working as a consortium. We will provide support and ensure a successful project which should cement business relationships between Zim and Malawi.

Botswana Tour-We have a tour to Botswana during the week where we will be following up on a training that we conducted in Harare  weeks ago

More Volunteer Action: We are going to be putting more energy on our volunteer programme which had taken a backseat as we concentrated on regional initiatives. We will be inviting some of them to carry out Facebook Lives as they engage with our members.

So stay blessed for the week

Wa Mdala