Diaspora Matters

Have you ever asked yourself, what can I grow in my backyard with the little expertise that I have in the shortest possible time at the same time earning that extra dollar?. You do not need to have a very huge backyard for you to be able to implement this, the most important aspect is being able to utilize to the max the land that you have.

1. African kale,Rugare

This is a very fast maturing kale and after seeding you should begin harvesting your in 5- 6 weeks. However African Kale does not respond well to transplanting most of us use suckers which really do well. Thin at six weeks and then you can harvest the remaining plants as you would any other kale. Use plenty of organic manure for larger leaves.

2. Cowpeas

If you are growing cowpeas for the leaves and not the seed, you should be able to harvest in about six weeks or at most two months. Cowpeas likes virgin soil or at least a lot of manure. So don’t be shy about applying manure from cows or chickens.

3. Cabbage

Some varieties of cabbage will mature in as short as two months from seedling.

4. Pumpkin

As long as you are growing pumpkin for the leaves and not the fruit, your crop should be ready in well under two months.Muboora is very popular at MbareMusika and can fetch good prices.

5. Spinach

With direct seeding, spinach should be ready in about two and a half months. If you are starting with seedlings instead of seeds the spinach will mature a little slower because it takes time to get over the shock of transplanting. This crop is highly nutritious and one of my personal favourites.

6. Potatoes

Potatoes mature in two to four months depending on the variety.

7. Baby carrots

These should be ready in about 30 days.

8. Squash

Squash should be ready in 70 days which is quite a short time.

9. Coriander

Coriander leaves take about at the very most six weeks to mature.

10. Peas

Garden peas mature in 60 days which translates to two months.

11. Beans

Some varieties of beans take less than two months to mature.

12. Parsley

Your parsley should be ready in a record three weeks. You can even dry the parsley and sell it as dried which fetches a better price on the market.

For detailed production guide on any of the above mentioned crops make don’t hesitate to contact Agro Aid Trust.

Emmanuel DN Dube is the senior agronomist at Agro Aid Trust and Chief agronomist at ZBIN, if you have any questions please email him on agroaidtrustzimbabwe@gmail.com +263783 495 396

The world is spinning at an alarming pace-its unbelievable!Some things which were impossible 20 years ago have been made possible. Take for instance 1998 when the first cellphone was brought into the country. I remember well the Mango package by Telecel, a  phone which was dismissed  by many sceptics. You see, we had been used to the old phones for more than 20 years and could not understand why we needed to change to the cell phones. Even though i could afford to buy the new tele communication toys in town, I chose to ignore it because I really did not see much value in it.

Fast forward to 2018 and what do we see? An alarming rate of change which has resulted in the emergence of big global corporates such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook-the list is endless. The richest person in Zimbabwe at the time was Mutumwa Mawere but 20 years down the line we have Dr Strive Masiyiwa.

What does this point to? Dear reader, the writing is on the wall…..the future is technology! Grasp technology and you will have a competitive advantage-ignore it and you can only do so at your own peril.

My missed opportunities in 1998 were to grab the Mango Cellphone and become a sales agent, become a cellphone shop owner. There are plenty of other opportunities lost because i was not forward looking with technology at the centre. I was a student intern working for NCR Zimbabwe, a technological hub at the time working as a cost accountant. NCR Zimbabwe at the time owned 280 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at the time which was a 99% monopoly in the country. My role included calculating the up and down time of ATM machines-preparing management reports and costing to banks. During spare time i would join engineers in repairing ATMs. I rue the missed chances of grabbing opportunities in the tech field. My focus was finishing my attachment, going back to college and finish my degree program. My focus was on doing articles, complete and get a good job. Entrepreneurship never crossed my mind and i never asked what the introduction of the cellphones meant for the future.

Speed and Opportunities

The first Mango product would lead to a smart phone which we enjoy today. In the 20 years the phone has transformed to include and replaced the camera man. If you were around in the 80/90s then you should be aware of the influential role that the camera man played in taking photos. This was a profession which employed thousands of people in Zimbabwe-most of them now replaced by the smart phone.

The M-Pesa in Kenya disrupted the banking sector and opened opportunities for platforms such as Ecocash which now hold more money deposits than the traditional mortar and building banking system.

If you mentioned in 1998 that one day people will phone to UK or USA for free, then you would have been taken to a mental institution for evaluation. If you mentioned that the Mango product was going to give rise to a multi- billion dollar industry called Facebook then you were to be considered a patient for Ingutsheni!

In 1998 we played music on cassettes and i remember my big collection of music which i stored on my briefcase. If you had told me that the mango phone was going to store my music then i would have dismissed you as insane.

I can go on and on and talking about impossible things that have been made possible since 1998. What is shocking is the pace of development in under 20 years. The endless opportunities that has been created-from Amazon to Facebook. I remember opening my first email address with Yahoo-it did not cross my mind at the time that the free facility was infact a marketing platform that would create billions of dollars for its founders.

Future Projections

Talking about the past helped you to grasp the dark cloud of ignorance that clouded the nation in the late 90s. The ignorance led us to missing out on future opportunities as we resisted new technological trends. We should perhaps have studied what was happening in the developed world?

Now looking at the next 20 years what do we project? Your starting point is writing everything that is said to be impossible and all the monopolies that exist:

1. Increased use of drones in Zimbabwe including transporting people?
2. People adopting the use of new currency such as Bitcoins rendering the RBZ useless?
3. Schools and Universities replaced by online educational institutions?
4. Government Bodies replaced by online entities?
5. Presidential and Parliamentary elections conducted online?
6. Medical Doctors and replaced by Online Platforms?
7. More people employed online than on conventional jobs?

The list above can be added to more than a thousand and what does this tell us? The online or digital market presents immense opportunities to those who grab and adopt. The future is digital and old ways of doing business no longer work. More professions will be replaced or rendered useless! We are already seeing it with newspapers where people are resorting to various social media options for news. Professions which are highly paid today may not be so in the next 5-10 years. Professions that take 4-5 years of study may be replaced by those that take 2-3 days.

What does this mean for you?

• Watch closely developments in the technological world
• Compare and contrast what is happening in various countries especially the developed world
• Upgrade your skills so that you remain relevant
• Do not dismiss any technology; you can only do so at your own peril
• Always look for opportunities and risks created by new technology
• If you are slow or old to adopt new technology, then surround yourself with those that know it
• Include technology strategy in your overall company strategy-view it as a competitive advantage
• Technology is creating new markets-how will you benefit from new markets created?

So get ready for another 20 years that will shock to death those who first witnessed the Mango phone in 1998. In 2038, Zimbabwe will be a completely new country and those ruling it will be those that grasped the technological revolution.

The future is digital and this is why Masiyiwa said the internet of things will be more valuable than real estate!

Did you know that Zimbabweans can now make carpet and rugs? Did you know that local women can now produce nice carpet and rugs that can compete with imported ones when it comes to quality? Some of you may be shocked and it is not surprising! Our own Zimbo ladies can now produce rugs and carpets to decorate their homes as well as selling them to other women in Zimbabwe.

An initiative of the Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network, we introduced this programme in July 2017 and it has already gone viral in the region. This resulted in us training 7 Tapestry Champions namely:

• Ntesang-Botswana
• Tshepiso-Botswana
• Nonhlanhla-South Africa
• Jessica-Swaziland
• Sella- Malawi
• Louise-Malawi
• Monica –Malawi

The champions arrived last Sunday and left Harare on Wednesday this week. It was a  great coincidence that they graduated on International Women’s Day. Through the programme we are hoping to create thousands of jobs for women across Southern Africa because the demand is unbelievable! We posted an advert in the 7 countries mentioned above 2 weeks ago and it went viral resulting in over 7,000 likes and 8,000 responses.

We created groups for the 6 countries that we covered and so the champions are going back to an already set market which they will be tapping from.

How does one benefit from Tapestry?

1. Once trained, you become a trainer
2. Producing carpets and rugs for home
3. Producing carpets for sale locally
4. Producing carpets for sale regionally
5. Selling carpets on behalf of clients you have trained

We combined the technical tapestry training with an entrepreneurship training so as to develop a person who is able to produce material and also find markets for them. Simply training people for the sake of training is not good enough -trainees should be able to access markets for their produce and there should be follow ups.

During the training, one of the trainees from Botswana-Ntesang managed to get an order for her rug even before the end of the training. This small rug became the first tapestry rug to be sold in Botswana on Zimbabwe soil.

Other Opportunities for Tapestry

Religion: We discussed at length the endless opportunities that exist from developing tailor made rugs for the Christian community-from prayer mats, Bible verses, church logos, Christian themes such as Easter and Christmas.

Culture: The Swaziland Champion is going to make a rug for presentation to King Mswati, more opportunities exist for totem themes –Mhofu, Gora, Museyamwa, Samanyanga etc. Periods such as Valentine will provide rich pickings for those who would have made tailor made rugs. Wedding gifts in the form of tailor made rugs and carpets can make an impact.

Sports: With soccer being the most popular sport in Southern Africa-teams such as Kaiser Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Dynamos, Motor Action, Caps United, Malawi Wanderers and Township Rollers will make an impact. Add to this popular English teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea will be crucial in the marketing of rugs.

What made the programme popular? Simple-it involves women taking charge of their designs, women using their hands and innovative minds to design what they want rather than buying a ready made carpet. This is a skill a woman also teaches others including her own children.

So what happens during training?

It is a 2-3 day training and covers technical skills of how to design and knit rugs and carpets. We wrap up the training with entrepreneurship course. Trainees take home 2 rugs, one small which should be completed during the training and another big one which can be completed after training at home.

Machinery Requirement

There is no need for sewing machines one just gets a few needles, carpet mat and design templates and they will be done.

Markets Follow Ups

ZBIN makes follow ups and helps members who produce carpets and mats to secure markets.

Cost of Training

It costs $100 per person or $60 per person for groups of 10 and above.

Social Responsibility

ZBIN supports women in prison with tapestry skills and we provide this for free

Interested in Tapestry?

Visit us at No 34 Qendon Road in Monavale, Our land line Number is 339 454 or 0774081808.

Zimbabwe Trainings are only limited up to end of August as we have a lot of trainings lined up in the region.

This should be one of the best news for Zimbabwe! Kwese Tv has been granted a licence by the Government and will soon start broadcasting into Zimbabwe in a few weeks to months time. Great news that will break the monopoly that was being enjoyed by Dstv Multi-Choice. Now we will have one of our own and this is likely to result in saving of forex because we were spending more than $400 million per year on Dstv alone.

So at national level we will have the country saving on hundreds of millions of dollars per year now how about at individual level? What are the business opportunities that you should be able to grab?

We will only focus on 3 opportunities, you are free to add more.

1. Kwese Decoder Agents: Kwese tv has been launched in various countries and in all the countries the first thing that has happened is the immediate opening of opportunities for those that sell kwese tv decoders. Grab this opportunity with both hands….usamire kungonzwa ma adverts arikuti decoder agents-rush and grab! For evidence of this issue, go to Dr Strive Masiyiwa’s page and find out the thousands of inquiries from those selling decoders or interested in selling decoders. Those employed should not lose out-grab the opportunity and employ others to run the business on your behalf.
2. Decoder Installations: Business will obviously start on a low tip but picking up with time, the peak may be reached by December. Those interested in installing decoders-hewo mukana! We expect thousands of households to install new decoders-numbers to reach millions within the next 12 months. Establish yourself as the ‘to go to guy’ for the new installations. Establish Facebook Pages where you will advertise your services.
3. Local Content Producers: The trending concept on Kwese Tv is Entreprenurship! Millions of Africans are tuning in to Kwese Tv some are following Dr Strive Masiyiwa on his Facebook Pages and do you want to know why they are following him? The answer is simple-Entrepreneurship! Most people want to know how to make money, how he made it…Dr Strive Masiyiwa represents a success story of entrepreneurship and he goes out of his way to engage readers or followers! He has grasped Social Media well. Followers want constant updates and engagement! So for local content producers, here is your chance to develop high quality television material that will be featured on the channel. The message is entrepreneurship, you will need to be innovative and come up with refreshing content that help inspire young entrepreneurs who will constitute the majority of the viewers.

So the sky is the limit for those that will be prepared, for those that move fast as millions of Zimbabweans move to Kwese Television. We expect thousands of jobs to be created, lots of opportunities to come to all areas-urban and rural!

Your homework this weekend and holiday will be to study what has been happening in all countries where this television was introduced and then come with a personal plan. We hope to see the ZBIN Community grabbing 60% of the first opportunities that come ….. All the best.

The Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network was in Budiriro 5 for a business presentation at Salvation Army last Sunday. We would like to thank Startupbiz who facilitated our meeting with Major Muza who leads the Salvation Army Budiriro 5 branch. This was a great platform for the Christian Community to reawaken in terms of entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe. An opportunity too for the forum to receive blessings from the church! To date ZBIN has been to ZAOGA(twice)  and Holiness Revival Churches- Salvation Army was the third church we were visiting.

Our presentation focused on the following key issues:

1. Changing the mindset to appreciate entrepreneurship
2. Improving the free flow of entrepreneurship opportunities information
3. Enabling the church to have access to funding and opportunities information
4. Supporting businesses from the Christian community
5. Encouraging the Christian community to work together in business

We delievered one of our best presentations in Budiriro despite getting the invitation at short notice. We confirmed the lack of information on funding opportunities especially those from Government such as Cross Border, Women Fund and Horticulture Funds.

We had an awesome response engaging church members in our presentation, showcasing opportunities that exist in Zimbabwe and how to tap into these opportunities. The church community should take the lead in taking advantage of business opportunities because it is the most organised and the largest community in the country. All that is needed is a reawakening of the sector and be organised for business.

Slowly the Christian Community is slowly rising and inviting business presentations from organisations such ZBIN is a step in the right direction.

Follow Up Action

Doing presentations is not enough-it can risk becoming a talk show where people just wax lyrical without meaningful action being taken. ZBIN has promised to make follow ups with the church and we will introduce an interesting initiative on Digital Marketing.

We therefore would like to thank Major Muza and Salvation Army for the warm reception and we hope to continue to work together in the follow ups.

The ZBIN constantly gets inquiries from members about available investment opportunities in the country. Our advice to them is to consider critical issues such as the investment horizon. Do not be short sighted and only analyse available opportunities as they may only exists in the short run. Do look far ahead and have 5 year projections  an analyze current Government legislation, regional and industry trends. In short, do have a holistic approach to investment if a gap exists now, will it continue to exist in the 5-10 year period?

Below we feature one of the requests from our members and responses from the forum.

Guys ndeipi kuri sei kumabasa. Please ndodawo kubvunza something if one would invest kuZimbabwe angaite invest in which sector. Or if someone wants to invest into business kuZimbabwe anagite business in which sector. I am doing a little and humbled research kuti ndikwanise kuunganidza njere and come up to a decision. So vachabatsira nemazano ndinotenda in advance. Ndezvipi zvinhu zviri kubhadhara kuZimbabwe. For example inini I have an idea yekuti ndikawana donor funding ndogona kuvhurisa a private school kumusha kwedu nekuti haaaa mitunhu ichiri kufambwa nevana yakakurisisa. At the same time budget ngatitii its US$50K and donor need to be part of this income generating project. Thanx nevachabatsira

Justice Mungwini Getting donor funds usina chawakatanga chatove viable is very difficult…and i think donors dont get involved in business ventures BUT charity work

Ngonidzashe Musonza #Justice Mungwini point taken but the fact remains and the question unanswered. With USD$50K what investment can i do in Zimbabwe

Leonard Justin Farming pasina irrigation unonyura.Also prices on the market are not certain

Ngonidzashe Musonza Animal husbandry maybe a solution in the sense of farming considering the fact of weather pattern s being unpredictable

Leonard Justin Private school kumusha?.Have you considered disposable income of this market segment

Titus Musendo Considering the risk in Zimbabwe, with $50k don’t put your eggs in one basket, my two cents!

Vts Macd Get a commercial stand then build shops for letting out.

Tori Elles Mum Does it really have to be Zimbabwe only? Have you tried to research on Moz and Malawi? Why Zimbabwe because the reason that its home is not good enough a reason to invest back here at the moment. A pvt school in the rurals that’s not charity ummm

Tello Muzavazi a private school is too risk especially kumusha-animal husbandry may sound good but frst research about tht market movements frst

Wellins Chimusimbe Its pointless investing in Zim if you are not a politician or politically linked. Got an American friend who wanted to partner me for a venture in Zim but after doing research on nitty gritties of doing business in Zim as a foreigner coupled with current economic meltdown e.g failure to get one’s funds from the bank,she has since turned her mind to investing in Zambia

Trust Nyaguse 50 k buy a company with building non runner gear up for operations after 2017 this time unonyudza ukavaka chikoro vana vakasabhadhara hauchabvumirwa kuvadzinga chero chikoro chiri chako.

Tori Elles Mum By the way what are you passionate about coz whatever idea you might get if its in the field you are not passionate about you may be doomed as there are always challenges and set backs with every business venture but its your passion plus vision that will keep you pushing until you reap the rewards. I take it you are not an investor anongoinvesta in others passions and lets his money work for him but this will be your all. Dai wataura zvaunofarira first.

Dylan Jemwa Tiger They are many projects you can invest in look outside the box for instance fishfarming beekeeping etc

Mai Anashe Tagwirei Mining don’t go there , u die

Chamunorwa WeDare ReGorekore ingotenga zvigero zvako ikoko wouya woita Barber ka one.Munhu wechigayo chaiye haasi kuita mari kunge ya barber

Nyasha Nigel farming (especially tobacco), or mining . but needs you to be physically involved

Ngonidzashe Musonza Hie guys i am very pleased ne maideas enyu and ne help yenyu. Well my passion inini ndeyekutenga ma properties. Now with this money i think its a wise decision if i invest ndotenga dzimba and rent them out. I am thinking of buying dzimba in areas like Highfields, Mufakose, Kambuzuma so that mdotsvaga vagara vanoda kuroja. Hamenowo zvamunofunga. This is my passion

Dougie Douglas Construction industry most dependable in Zim

Vts Macd Business redzimba for now harisi kunyatsopa mareturns ari reasonable. The only good part of a building is that haiori zvayo kana Zim yava bhoo vanhu vouyawo kuzoshanda mumaguta vakawanda market icha picka.

Nkosi Brian Buy a little farm, invest in capital goods ipapo murizii zvenyu.ma Greenhouse, zvemushroom apo, mombe dze milk apo ne pema grains. Borehole ne tank hombe. Motenga hat seyangu ne motorbike rekutenderera pa farm. Wifi moisa yekuzotipawo ma picture acho tichiisa ma likes hedu

Nkosi Brian Plus zvoda kwamuine passion. That will compel you. Or kutsvaga ane experience ne knowledge though pachida kungwara senyoka nekupfawa senjiva cause mozviwanira tsotsi. Find a good consultant in the area yama chooser .

Mai Mrehwa you can never go wrong with real estate. buy as many properties as you can now zvichakachipa

After more than 400 business posts on this website with each day having at least a business post, ZBIN can safely be classified as a business forum which identifies opportunities! Identifying opportunities naturally runs through our blood and this is one of our key strengths. We like to share with others so as to inspire a lot of entrepreneurs who could be clueless of what to invest in. The lack of awareness on opportunities often lead to most people flooding a few sectors resulting in over flooding. ZBIN does share information for free to the general public but we have certain classified information that we do not share, we have certain information that is only available to subscribed members only.

This afternoon, we would like to tackle the importance of protecting your business ideas especially when you want to start a business idea. It is important to protect information because if information leaks, chances are high that someone will grab the information and run away with it.

Who is  vulnerable to business idea theft?

• Young entrepreneurs without capital
• Talkative people
• People who like to show off
• Inexperienced people

A young entrepreneur is likely to approach a lot of people looking for funding, demonstrating that their idea works and is viable. Approaching the wrong people for funding can prove fatal-your idea can be hijacked! We even have certain prominent companies that  thrive on poaching business ideas from young people without giving due credit.

Some youngsters send unsolicited business proposals to companies thinking that their innovations will be acknowledged. This rarely happens infact most get shocked when they see their business idea implemented without due recognition to the inventor. Here is a warning to you-the world of business is infested with sharks!

A new trick in town is simply to invite applications for funding where the best idea gets funding. Be careful of most of these adverts or competitions- some are just there to harvest business ideas for free. I once came across someone unscrupulous who advertised commercial premises for rental at Zindoga in Harare. He would interview each prospective lessee asking what sort of business they wanted to run.

He interviewed a total of 10 people and now wait for what he did-he implemented the best idea that came from one of the people who wanted to lease his building. The whole interview process was a fraud meant to harvest business ideas!

On another business post by a prominent business man, followers were invited to post details of their organisations with the winner being chosen. Thousands of young entrepreneurs posted their business details, some even went a step further and posted their business plans. Readers of the post should have been left wondering what is wrong in Africa as people were posting confidential business information.

So becareful with your business ideas, protect them as if your life depends on them. Carry out due diligence and study who the person is, their history on business ethics before giving away your business ideas as you seek funding.

Entering online competitions opens your doors to investment and being profiled but the question is…should you give out all information on a site where information is accessed by millions of people?

You should judge what information to give away especially to strangers. Be careful of competitions that harvest business ideas. Another big problem with young people is to talk too much in trying to impress rich people. Some of these rich people got rich by harvesting information for free! They know that young people love to talk, they love to show-off their knowledge and business opportunities.

Below we feature a similar issue which was discussed on one of our groups

Hello guys… Please I need your advice … I just shared with a friend … I told her that I’m saving some cash to buy myself a caravan to sell food… I thought she was happy for me …but then she was over excited she told everyone about it …I’m scared that she will overtake me..should I be worried?

Elizabeth: People steal ideas that’s one thing you should always be wary of  whom you share your business ideas with.The very reason people patent their intellectual property is the same reason u should use to safeguard your ideas.

Samukhele; Never ever tell people your plans cc, they will steal your ideas. But yaz the one thing i love about trusting in God when he blesses you he blesses you indeed. Even if your friend buys the caravan she cannot do what you do the same way you do it. Pray over your plans, hush your mouth from now on and continue with your business plan.shes is not you and never will be you are original

Vee: while shes still waiting to see if you will really buy the caravan or not wena go and register a company.if youre in SA R400 should be enough including a Nedbank business account

Jesca: I’m in a same situation but for me its my husband who is discouraging me that my business will fail.

Vee:Remember what i said in my earlier posts? Do not listen to the negativity of family and friends they will hold you back.. It is possible that your husband sees your potential and know you’re capable of making your business a success and he fears how independent you might become.God says we must remember and hold on to our dreams for they will come to pass. I have failed a million times in business and im still failing even now cos theres so much to learn. Dont let people’s discouragements phase you. Your goals your will to succeed.

The Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network Offices are located in Monavale which is near Mabelreign Shopping Centre. For most of our small scale procurements, we go to this centre instead of Avondale Shopping Centre. The close proximity provides us with an opportunity to analyse changes and business opportunities at this busy business centre.

An analysis of this centre shows that most businesses are there such as Retail Shops, Hardwares, a Post Office, Service Station, Boutiques, Pubs, and Service Stations. There is a lot of duplication of business especially in the area of sports bars.

New businesses to open include a renovated Econet Shop, Profeeds shop and a Bata Shoe shop. All the three opened shops do show brisk business if we are to believe the number of customers who are always in these shops. The Profeeds shop is an interesting one and shows that they had done enough market survey-they know that most people are involved in income generating activities such as poultry, pig and rabbit rearing. Some do the projects in Mabelreign and surrounding surbubs but the majority should be people with farms in areas such as Nyabira. We do not expect Profeeds to close shop any time soon-infact we expect an expansion to bigger premises in the nearby future. The Econet shop is not surprising, this is a growing business sector in Africa. Most people want to communicate and all shops that sell phones are enjoying brisk business in the country.

What is missing?

It is interesting to note that no one has set up a bookshop at this centre! We are not sure whether this is an oversight on the part of business people or not. Our last survey of areas where Zimbabweans are spending money on showed that Education was number one. We are all spending money sending our children to school, clothing them and buying school related materials such as books. There are at least 4 schools near this busy centre and they are Mabelreign Girls High, Elis Robins, Alfred Beit and Reekworth Primary School. There are a lot of other scattered private colleges and crèches in this surbub. All of these schools need stationery, they need books and there is no one to cater for them. The small OK and SPAR shops can argue that they also sell stationery but this is not enough.

So to anyone interested in setting up a shop at this centre, do not ‘sweat the technique’ by copying what others are already doing. We encourage you to try other areas such as a Bookshop. Microfinance institutions also have a good chance of making it at this centre as there is none.

When it comes to customer service, Thailand comes second to none in the world! If you would want to learn or experience unparalleled  customer service then book the next flight to Thailand. The level of customer service in Thailand will shock and surprise you-they are simply in a world of their own and this helps to explain why it is a tourist destination of choice in the world.

Here is my story

I had a sponsored risk management workshop a few years ago in Bangkok Thailand and this meant that i had to go there for a week. I  booked my accommodation at Okura Hotel which is located in the heart of Bangkok. My travel to this country involved a flight from Harare to Dubai and then connecting from Dubai to Thailand. This was my first time to the East Asia Region and i had applied for a visa online whilst in Harare- their embassy is based in South Africa.

The Shock

When i arrived at this beautiful and massive hotel, i was warmly greeted by the receptionist who took me to a visitors room whilst she recorded my details. Upon seating down on a visitors chair something i will never forget happened! The receptionist came with a book to confirm my booking and then knelt down. Receptionist akatyora muzura!

In shock, i thought the receptionist had stumbled upon the ground and wanted to help her back to her knees! Some uick thinking from me helped to serve the situation, reality sank in-the lady was kneeling down as a sign of respect. She was kneeling down as a sign of supreme customer service!

The lady with a smile took down my details, offered me Thai Tea and was soon out of the reception room. The kneeling down is an act i had not anticipated-it was a shocker! I smiled and could not believe that this was real. Iam not sure whether this happens to visitor but this lady had done enough homework. She knows what African tourists want and she delivered in 2 minutes whilst confirming my booking details.

After booking, i was to start my workshop at a nearby hotel which is located directly opposite to the Okura Hotel. On the second day another shocker was to come my way-it was my birthday and i had actually forgotten about it as i was busy after hours with work.

On coming from the workshop, I saw this amazing cake and birthday card! This fruitcake will compete for my best ever birthday cake, it was complete with a birthday card which had been signed by the Chief Executive Officer of Okura Hotel together with his entire management team.What an honour for a nonentity coming from Zimbabwe. What a suprise and honour for someone in foreign land?

In the next article i do hope to go an extra mile in explaining the hospitality of the Thais but for now allow me to write about a  few lessons to those work in customer service.

Customer Service as a Competitive Advantage

I saw a lot of tourists in Thailand and most of them were from the developed world. There were flocking to this beautiful city and the reason was simple-attracted by the beautiful holiday destinations PLUS the hospitality of the Thais! This hospitality has led to every visitor telling others to visit this country. All people who visit Thailand inspire others to visit Thailand and this has worked well for them. They view customer service as a competitive advantage.

Shock your customer

Iam not advocating for receptionists to kneel down for customers, this may not work in certain countries but the point is- Shock your customers with excellent customer service. Get to know them better, research about them, find out what interests them. Go the extra mile in delivering world class experience. Here is the good news-it does not cost a lot of money….delivering top notch customer service does not need a lot of money-it just need a right culture and right people.

Getting a small cake possibly costed less than $5 for the hotel, getting a customised birthday card could have costed less than $2 for them. However to me the $7 spend on the card is probably worth a million dollars in value. It is the experience that matters, the warmth of the people of Thailand, the professionalism that is more important.

So in your business are you shocking your customers or you are doing what everyone is doing? Are your customers talking positively about your company? If you are not delivering the Thai Experience then you haven’t started being serious about customer service.

I see many companies and individuals getting recognition and being awared certificates for customer service in the country and often wonder what these awards are for. Noone should get an award for customer service until we learn to shock customers or clients. We need to go back to the drawing board and set benchmarks on customer service. If the benchmark is not Thailand then you are setting it very low.

As i left the beautiful Okura Hotel at the end of my weeklong workshop, I met another Zimbabwean who had come to Thailand for an HIV and Aids workshop. The lady, Ms Martha Tholanah is the Board Chair of ZBIN. At the busy airport whilst waiting for our flight to Dubai, we got to talk about exceptional customer service in Thailand. She had also encountered a similar experience at her hotel and we both agreed that in Thailand they go the extra mile on customer service-They pamper tourists!

So food for thought to every entrepreneur, are you giving your customer the Thai Treatment? Are you kneeling down for your customers even those who are nonentities?If yes then keep it up but if not then watch your back and take corrective action because one day a competitor will introduce a Thai Treatment and grab all of your customers within a short period of time.

What intrapreneurs in established firms must do to succeed.

Based on insights from Mark Achler