This is what helped to shape the direction of the forum when we formed it back in 2015. If you would like to find information about business opportunities in Zimbabwe, where are you going to go? If you would like to download information or resources on small businesses in the country-which site or forum do you visit? If you do not have sufficient funds for consultancy fees, where will you get free information?

The questions became tougher for instance if you are i the diaspora and would like to invest back home, who is going to give you up to date information on opportunities? So an attempt to answer the questions above gave rise to a fledging digital platform which helps to assist small businesses in Zimbabwe-The Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network!

A community and a platform that constantly discuss business –a close community that networks and share information on opportunities. A capacity building platform where members access information and resources to help improve their businesses.

Our model is structured as follows:

Website: Our website is our central place for filing information and resources. Contains a lot of downloads and articles that helps small businesses. It helps with free and easily accessible information. The website established  at the end of November 2016 has been viewed more than 250,000 and is linked to our Facebook Page.

Facebook Platform: Acts as a link between the website and our popular whatsapp groups.  Information flows from the Facebook page of 32,000 to the website or vice versa. Information is cascaded to the Whatspp platform or comes from the Whatsapp platform.

The Whatsapp Platform: With over 8,000 members and managed by trained Whatsapp Admins, the forums include Poultry, Mining, Bitcoin, Online Forex, Agriculture, Rabbits, Mozambique Opportunities, Baking, Entrepreneurship, Tapestry etc. It also has business forums for regional countries such as Lesotho, Zambia, Swaziland, Zambia, Botswana and Malawi. Information flows from the Whatsapp platforms to Facebook or straight to the website.

So with information flowing from different directions on our platforms-the result is a closely knit and well informed community of 32,000 and more. The model ensures that at any given point in time there are tens of people on our website. Every minute a discussion is going on in the more than 20 groups that we have on our platforms.

When we investigated whether such a model exists in the world, we realised that a similar model model exists in Japan and its called Mirasapo. Whilst the Mirasapo does not exactly follow the Whatsapp and Facebook linkages it however achieves one major objective and that is to support the needs of the SME sector in Japan.

Out is the traditional class type of capacity building and workshops and in is the future with use of IT in creating engaging platforms where members can access information from experts. This has worked well in Japan as it enables everyone from all the corners of the country to access information at the click of a button. This is what we are using as we connect the Diaspora and locals-connect entrepreneurs in remote areas with others in cities. The message is the same-access to information and resources at little cost.

Model Adjustment

The existing model has worked well for us in creating a solid and closely knit community. The next stage is expanding the model by ensuring that it reaches to members beyond the current 32,000  to more than a million members as we expand beyond Southern Africa. We will be sharing with you more information as we have already done a test which reached out to hundred thousands members.

The Good News

By now you must have received the good news of our project in a Southern Africa country. More to come as we prepare for an innovative program that we hope will be used as a model for entrepreneurship in Africa. Current models of business hubs which have been introduced are fine but need to be refined so that they can suit local conditions-what do locals want? If they enjoy singing whilst they do their job, are you incorporating that into your business models? If locals enjoy handiwork are you incorporating that into business models or you are just bringing business school environment to rural area based entrepreneurs? Lets wait and see what comes out from pilot phase coming up in the next few weeks.

Bitcoin and More Bitcoin

Last week we formed  groups-India-Zim group for collaboration between Zim and Indian entrepreneurs. A great platform where information is freely shared between Zimbos and Indian entrepreneurs.  We however failed to create a Bitcoin group due to time constraints-we promise to create it this week.

Office Closure

The ZBIN offices will be closed for renovations as from Monday to Tuesday this week-we reopen on Wednesday.

So wishing you all a fabulous week-do not forget to  go and register to vote.

Wa Mdala

We encourage our members to uphold high ethical values in business. Ethics help in the sustainability of your business. Try and cut corners, try and engage in corruption and your business will only survive in the short run.

Below we showcase some of the high profile cases of Fraud and Corruption and what happened.

Case 1.
In the UK in 2014, a small limited company
specialising in printing security documents,
together with its chairman and its sales and
marketing manager, were convicted of corruptly
agreeing to make payments totalling nearly half
a million pounds. These payments were used to
influence the award of business contracts in
Kenya and Mauritania. This was the first Serious
Fraud Office (SFO) trial resulting in conviction
of a corporate for foreign bribery.

Case 2
In 2011, Japanese giant Olympus became engulfed
in a $1.7 billion accounting scandal after its former
Chief Executive was dismissed for questioning
company accounts and brought the issue to global
attention. As a result of the scandal, the Board
resigned and the company together with three
former executives pleaded guilty in Japan to
charges related to a cover-up. The scandal had a
devastating impact on the value of the company at
the time and the company was fined ¥700 million
(£3.8 million).

Case 3
In South Africa in 2016, a businessman was
sentenced for 20 years for using a multimillion
South African rand fishing business as a front
for false VAT returns, using the proceeds to fund
an excessive luxury lifestyle and losing the
country’s revenue service over R250 million.

Case 4
Satyam Computer Services, an Indian global IT
company, was brought down and joined the ranks
of Enron and WorldCom on the scale of fraudulent
financial activity, after the CEO in 2009 admitted
the company had misrepresented its accounts
to its board, the stock exchanges, the regulators,
its investors and all other stakeholders. The
company’s revenues and profits were overstated,
and it also reported a cash holding of
approximately $1.04 billion that simply did not
exist. The CEO, together with others involved in
the fraud, were convicted in 2015.

Case 5
Volkswagen (VW) Diesel Fraud:Running on empty

In 2015, the United States’ Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) found that many VW cars being sold in
America had a “defeat device” – or software – in diesel
engines that could detect when they were being tested,
changing the performance accordingly to improve
results. At the time, VW was positioning its diesel cars in
the markets, backed by a huge marketing campaign,
highlighting its cars low emissions. The resultant scandal
impacted on VW globally at every level of the company.
In early 2017, several VW executives were charged over
their alleged roles in the emissions scandal.

The US Attorney General stated that “These individuals all held
positions of significant responsibility at VW, including
overseeing the company’s engine development division
and serving on the company’s management board.
Over the course of a conspiracy that lasted for nearly
a decade, they seriously abused those positions,
and today, they are being charged with a range of
crimes, including conspiracy to defraud the United
States, violations of the Clean Air Act, and wire fraud.”
Investigations into their conduct are ongoing and followed
a requirement concluded in 2016 for VW to pay $4.3
billion in criminal and civil penalties and to take specific
measures to prevent future violations. These sanctions
are in addition to more than $15 billion in settlements with
VW that have previously announced and do not take
into account other worldwide actions, including civil class
actions, against the company.

One of our mandate is to ensure that our members are well informed. A well informed member is an empowered member who has a competitive advantage over those without enough information! So for our members in Lesotho, the hope is that you do not miss any opportunities especially those that are publicly known.

Below we feature an advert from the Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation (BEDCO).

In an attempt to facilitate establishment and development of Basotho owned businesses by locals who posses technical and operational skills in textile and aspire to improve their businesses but lack the necessary entrepreneurial and business management skills, the Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation (BEDCO), calls for applications from interested people to join our business incubation programme Qhotsiso project. The project is intended to assist young people who are self -employed in the textile industry to become employers and drivers of economic growth. The project will assist by providing working space, necessary machinery, technical advisor and business advisor to the beneficiaries. The incubation centre is based at BEDCO TY and each intake takes 12 months.

Who is eligible?

The project targets young Basotho Aged 18-35 years who posses operational skills in textile, whose small businesses struggle to access machines and workspace, and those who are in the process of starting business. Companies owned by more than one person have an added advantage.

Candidates will only be selected based on viability of the business and its potential to create new jobs for other people. All qualifying individuals in all ten districts of the country are eligible to submit their completed application forms. However all candidates should note that BEDCO will not cater for their travel and living expenses for the duration of the incubation in TY. They should be able to sustain themselves financially.

Selection and adjudication process

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interview. Interview will consist of oral and practial tests.

Submission and deadline

Application forms are available at all BEDCO offices and can be submitted there.

FINAL DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION FORMS IS ON THE 10TH NOVEMBER, 2017. Enquiries can be made via telephone on the following numbers: +266 2221 6100 contact person ‘M’ e Koronti Ntsasa Masiloane

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.

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.

South Africa – Information Technology

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

Last Published: 8/2/2017

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

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

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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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!