Diaspora Matters

It is exactly 12 months before election and already the political temperatures are slowly picking up momentum. Do expect full campaigning to go full throttle in the next 2 to 3 months. It will not be business as usual for the entrepreneur because this period is usually characterised by a lot of new programmes or policies as politicians jostle for power.

An entrepreneur should not be caught unaware when planning or reviewing strategies. You need to look closely at opportunities and risks that will be presented by this period. New policies may be coming that affect your specific business sector favourably-grab them. Some policies may negatively affect your business-learn to manage them!

We encourage you to look at the previous elections in 2013, how was the business sector affected? Which new policies or directives came? How did they affect you? One is therefore advised to watch the tv closely and watch out for policy announcements, take an interest in all newspapers. You need balanced views so that you can make your own informed decision. Follow tweets from influential Zimbabweans, what are they saying? Will this affect your business? Do not miss public announcements by key people such as the Minister of Finance and the Reserve Bank Governor.

Be careful of losing influential business partners, customers or clients during this period due to your political affiliations or views. Try and keep your political views away from your business because some of your major clients may not agree with your views on politics.

As ZBIN we have always been apolitical from day 1 and this is one of our major advantages. We have a solid community that supports different parties and this is a strength which we cherish. We do not allow political messages because they will divide members and divert attention. Our core mandate is business and we will keep to that.

One alarming gap in the political scene is the absence of evidence based decision making! We hope politicians can learn from the business sector. In critical decision making one needs to back up strategic decisions by using well researched evidence. The use of statistics and researches is limited in the political landscape. Statistics or researches on voting patterns, benchmarking from similar environments which is backed by researches. A few surveys do come here and there but more should be done in this sector. Political strategists can learn from the business sector-we do not make critical decisions based on heresay! So food for thought to politicians as we mark the beginning of a 12 months political marathon.

Volunteer Programme

This initiative from the forum is going on well. A new game changer for the SME sector in Zimbabwe, we will be utilising the expertise that exists in Zimbabwe locally and abroad. We have registered the first batch of volunteers, the next stage is registering business owners in need of assistance. Researches in capacity building shows that capacity building should be demand driven. This implies that you do not go to someone and offer capacity building when they have not indicated they need it.

We have already identified a quarter of the people who need assistance in the volunteer programme. We are open for more, all you need to do is to write an email to vicmunemo@yahoo.com or contact us on +263774081808

Beira Trip Build Up

We are slowly preparing for the historic forum trip to Beira and we hope to do this in the next 2 weeks. This trip should enable the forum to explore opportunities in the that exists in Mozambique, how others are taking advantage of them and identify gaps for our team. If you are interested in the trip then get in touch with the Administrator of the ZBIN Moz Opportunities Group-Clara Mapfumo on +263 779 330 095.

Our forum tracks tenders in Zimbabwe and we cover all sectors. Knowledge of tenders is critical for every serious investor because you need to know what will be happening in terms of investment and growth. Which areas continue to grow? Who is involved in tenders, the trends, who is new in flighting tender adverts etc

Expert investors will need this crucial information for investment purposes because tenders means big bucks. This is the vehicle through which hundreds of millions of dollars from the Government, Parastatals and NGOs spend their monies. An analysis of the NGO sector can show the areas where they are spending money on, an analysis of schools in Zimbabwe shows that over US$5 Billion was spend on bus purchases over the past 3 years! So someone with a company that manufactures or procures buses should be one of the happiest people in Zimbabwe. Universities have been active on the tender market procuring IT equipment and related accessories.

Diaspora Connection

The initiative from ZBIN is that the Diaspora community should follow tenders in Zimbabwe. You should tenders so that you can set up your own companies and benefit from the tenders. A look at most of the tenders shows that they are for procuring goods that are not manufactured in Zimbabwe. In short they are for the importation of goods from other countries such as South Africa, Japan, China, UK and USA. A diaspora with access to loans or credit facilities should partner with locals and participate in the tender business.

Tender Tracker Availability

Our tender tracker is available on a weekly basis and only to subscribed members of the forum. If you are not a subscriber then you will get access to tenders once every 2 months like this latest one which is available for free download.

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Many passengers continue to lose their lives in public transport accidents. The Lion King Bus accident where 43 lives were lost  is a case in mind, we can also add the kombi accident in Seke where more than 9 passengers perished on the spot. In all of the accidents, the number 1 problem is over speeding.

The question that comes to mind is ‘ Will passengers not be aware that a bus is over speeding?’ Interviews with the survivors of the Lion King Bus accident shows that passengers were aware of the over speeding by the bus driver. Some cautioned him but to no avail. He kept on speeding resulting in the horror crash!

The proposed solution from ZBIN is as follows;

1.All buses should have the contact details of the owner or supervisor of the bus. These details should be displayed where every passenger can see them. The details can also be put on the bus ticket. In cases of over speeding-passengers to immediately contact the number so that the supervisor can contact the driver.

2. Bus companies should invest in awareness campaigns to let passengers know of their rights to notify the supervisor or bus owner if they suspect that a bus is over speeding.

3. The system to be checked for compliance by authorities, log books of complaints received to be checked and action taken  by buses being monitored.

We believe that  when buses know that passengers know their rights, they know where to report when buses are over speeding then can  take corrective action on over speeding problems. The current scenario is that passengers just keep quiet and those who speak up are never listened to by bus drivers. If you continuously complain you risk being ejected from the bus or other passengers may disagree with you and encourage the driver to keep or increase speed!

Passengers should not sit idle whilst being driven to death, they should take action to stop over speeding! In the case of the Lion King Bus crash-passengers noticed over speeding more than 100 kilometres away before the horror crash. Had they phoned the bus supervisor or owner to notify them of the over speeding-chances are high that the 43 lives lost could have been saved.

Below we bring you some of the responses from the Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network members

Ashley York Best way to stop buses speeding is for insurance companies not to supply third party liability cover to ungoverned buses. It will be too expensive for the bus companies to cover this amount of deaths without insurance.

Richmore Mudhodha I do support your idea coz we are losing precious and innocent souls

Missy Ree Ree Nyatananga Your idea is plausible Mdala.Shld the passenger’s request had been taken cognisance of maybe it cld hv been a different case

Tori Elles Mum Before I had a child I used to enjoy the high speed especially travelling to SA. Intercape yaitondisvota coz “yainanaira” coz of the speed track yavaive nayo don’t know about now. Senge madays eGo liner Supreme paive nadriver wandaifarira stereki Lloyd I think is his name haaa aiflya paroad iyeye nzeve dzaivhara senge ndege iri kuenda mudenga. Now that I’m a mother I’d rather vabereki vandirove ndaita noise kuti ndidzike when the driver is driving at a very high speed. Vabereki should learn to rise with one voice not kungogara vakabatira hana mumaoko vachimhanyisirwa kunourayiwa. This is just so sad mhan

Eng Brian Mukoyi Mdhara Rue. Thanks for bringing this subject up. But I have a different view. We seem to worry when a high number of people die in one accident. Measures should be taken across the board. How many cars travel above 120km/hr and we don’t seem concerned ? Whether it’s one life lost or 100 at once we need to deal with the same stick. Fuel tankers were banned from travelling at night, now we propose buses. Why not the smaller vehicles? Tinenge tichiendepi husiku with smaller cars where we do not want buses to go? Buses owners don’t lose anything in travelling on day if all passengers are restricted to day travelling. Speeding can happen during day and cause accidents. Let’s research on accidents in Zimbabwe and analyse the stats before we make such landmark decisions. My prayers are with the families of the deceased.

Eng Brian Mukoyi An afterthought. If a bus is running late the bus has to stop and passengers sleep on the road? Consider a passenger travelling from Harare to Vic Falls by bus. 880km. At 80km/hr the bus will take 11hrs. With stoppages of 15 minutes per rank in all towns along the way, the bus will stop for at least 1hr 30min. That’s a total of 12hr 30min. Just try to imagine the effect of the night ban to the passengers on such a trip

Brian Mathonsi We may blame each other till our Lord returns without mentioning the critical factor of our highways. I travelled at night some time back from SA via a Malayisha’s Quantam. The good fellow would fall asleep for a good 30s at a time and i would gently nudge him awake. We need wider roads. Period! Zimbabweans have this mentality of skirting the real issues that need addressing

Brian Mathonsi We cant still be using Ian Smith’s roads 37 years later and then accuse business people of ritual accidents. I refuse to entertain minimalistic arguments. The people responsible for delivering roads should deliver roads

Foster Leman James All buses should have satellite tracking so that their offices can monitor and instruct drivers to adhere to certain speeds

Exavior Chitova Chivige so sad that we lost so many lives, breadwinners and future leaders as well, but govt is to blame as well, people are ever travelling esp zimboz trying to make ends meet, kunoshava kuma neighbouring countries bcz of economic hardships back home, there are no jobs, no money yet you want to survive, the situation is just bad, every border human traffic ma zimbabweans, why, you rarely see south africans zambians malawians mozambicans coming to zim why but us going to those countries

Sabina Abdulla Above all comments are reasonable, But some passengers tell the bus driver to drive faster if the passengers are in a hurry to reach destination so both parties to be blamed here

Apton Kanyemba i work in the marine industry.we can control a ship that is about 3000 kms away,thats via satellite.and thats out at sea ey?,ofcoz thats technology.the same can be done by bus companies if they want to.a bus can be fitted wth a setillite tracking that control its speed and functions at any given time.someone can do fhat from their control room.but becoz owners dont want to meet that extra costs,i think Gov must make a it a condition befor issuing a new operators licence or renewing it.

Tori Elles Mum Realistically we all know that roads are far from being fixed so in the meantime should people continue to perish because roads aren’t being delivered? The blame is on the bus companies. Surely they can’t have their buses driving on our bad roads as though they are driving on SA roads which are good. They know the state of the roads and therefore should take measures to curb such incidents that may cause accidents e.g. installing tracking devices and putting supervisors contact details on the tickets so passengers can report if the driver isn’t taking heed of passengers plea to reduce speed. While we continue blaming the govt people are dying. There’s always a way of working around an unfavourable situation.

Alficha Marques We can use the tollgate clocking times to fine public transporters who are over speeding on roads with tollgates or something like that.

Blessing Bee Bling kare taiti tichienda kumusha tikasvika paroadblock bhazi romiswa hanzi hazvisi kufambirana ne timetable saka mirai kusvika nguva dzakwana or kudzokera kumashure taitoburuka mubhazi todya mbova tofambafamba musango kusvika tanzi nguva yakwana chiendai zvino zvikomana zvemabonda izvi zvinotoona business pauri hazvitobvunzi zvinongogamuchira mari nyangwe bhazi risiri mucondition as long atora mugove wake haana chinomutyisa

Blessing Bee Bling we demand renovations on the roads and cameras and speed trap devices like in S.A. zinara collects lumpsums from motorists on those suicidal roads where is the money going to?

Kevin Sena The Law Of Road Safety: When the driver and his vehicle lose it, the road must do something

Rachel Chitongo Dai kuri kuno mapassenger vakamukiya kukaroi

Mdala Wa Rue Abt 2 months ago i went to Mtoko Centre…ndichangobva pa toll gate kubuda muHre i saw an merc kombi yairova above 140 (i was travelling at 120)..the way he overtook me ndakangoti Mwari dai machengeta kombi iyi. Luckily it stopped at a roadblock and i overtook it. I thought all was ok only to find the kombi yakawa on my way back…it had burst a tyre a few kilos after Murewa….so kune vanowona a speeding public transport vehicle…vekunze uye vanenge varimo mukombi imomo…Do they have power or wongofa wakatarisa?

Christopher Chingono Every bus should have a police hotline which passengers can phone. This should be a toll free number to be used by passengers. Police at the next station can then be notified. Surely we cant let this driver carelessness go unpunished. The bus owners need to take reponsibility for their drivers actions as well. Bus companies need to start being taken to task for the behaviour of their drivers.

Rachel Chitongo vanhu don’t complain because vanenge vaneta ne the hundreds of stops in between

Justice Mungwini problem speeding does not start with bus driver,nor ends with him…long distance routes are more lucrative and a driver has to ‘perform’ to continue being given that route.calling supervisor driver z speeding will simply give the supervisor something to smile at…to involve the police at this season of tym will only give them an extra loophole yekuguma nayo ma driver mari…

Mai Mrehwa at one point we where in a speeding combi.we complained and the stupid driver started driving at 40km/h…needless to say …am still alive besides arriving hours late.

We would like to thank the business community for the overwhelming responses to our call for business volunteers. This is great for the small to medium scale business enterprises in Zimbabwe. The forum would like to take advantage of the huge human capital potential that exists in Zimbabwe. We would like to harness this and help to capacity build a lot of entrepreneurs through the volunteer programme which we have dubbed ‘ ZBIN  Entrepreneurship Unlimited’. We are pushing the boundaries in terms of entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe and through mentorship, partnerships and networking, we believe that only the sky is the limit!

How will it work?

We have received tens of responses from the community, some are lawyers, accountants, engineers, television producers, agronomists, entrepreneurs, bankers etc. Some of the responses came from Zimbabwe and abroad with countries such as Australia, UK, South Africa, USA, Germany, Turkey, Swaziland and Botswana.

We will provide volunteers with platforms to present on their areas of technical expertise to the forum. We will use platforms such as our popular Facebook Page where one can do a Facebook Live Programme on selected business topics as requested by the community. Videos produced to be uploaded on this site and Youtube so that more Zimbabweans outside the ZBIN forum can have access to the materials presented.

Other platforms will include training through webinars or at our conference room. Some will be writing business articles for sharing with the community or targeting their assistance to selected business enterprises. We believe that through this programme, the forum will be richer as it harnesses the human capital that exists amongst Zimbabweans dotted across the globe!

Below we feature one of the responses that we got from a loyal member of ZBIN

Hi I saw your message asking for volunteers. I am a broadcast and digital journalist. I am based in Turkey where I work for an international news channel as a producer. I am keen on training some people on Digital social marketing. This on how harness social media in growing their brands. I will focus on developing social media strategy, which platforms to focus on, and mobile journalism on how to shoot, produce and publish videos of their products.

This will be a great opportunity for the ZBIN entrepreneurs to take advantage of the skills and knowledge of this brother who is based in the diaspora and has got access to the latest technology and skills in the area of digital marketing. We hope to see more volunteers coming to the forum and help a lot of Zimbabwean entrepreneurs in need of various services but not knowing where to get it or even afford to pay for it.

Next week we will finalise a legal capacity building framework for the SME sector. We are fortunate to have a lawyer who has volunteered to help the SME sector with all legal issues. We have asked the community to state what it is they would like her to cover and some of  the responses we got are as follows:

 Member 1: We would like her to cover partnership agreements investment Agreements drafts business contracts IP issues Arbitration

Member 2: She should try and cover ;

1) business agreements
2) transaction lagalities
3) trade legal requirement
4) export lagalities
5) representation of sme Players in litigation – funded through subscriptions
6) legal operation requiremnts package for sme in Zimbabwe

Member 3: Dealing with bad debtors. Law of contracts btwn parties/ individuals zvatofanira kutarisa wen entering into contracts. Advice of forms of partnerships/companies with less risk. Company/ trustee/ cooperative formation

Member 4: I think assistance with partnership agreements would really help as well as information on tax laws and how they affect our businesses. Perhaps she could also provide advice on company types that are legal in Zim and how best to select an option suitable to you business. I always wonder about trusts and foundations in reference to commercial applicability.

ZBIN is going to do a Live Facebook Feature on our Facebook Page tomorrow at 3:00pm where we will explain how the Volunteer Programme will work. Do not miss the feature on our page Zim Business Ideas and Network.

For those interested in joining our programme, do send an email to vicmunemo@yahoo.com or use this phone number +263774081808

The Real Estate sector seems to be slowing down , house construction is still going on but the rate of growth has slowed down drastically. This is not surprising as it is a reflection of what is prevailing in the economy. I recently visited Chishawasha and Grange in Harare and witnessed a lot of big and beautiful homes- there was a worrying trend though-homes or mansions that are incomplete !. A lot of people are struggling to complete some mansions that they had started building, we hope that they will complete them when the fortunes of the country improves.

The topic of the day targets first time builders-the problems they encounter and proposed solutions.

Most people make blunders when they build their first homes, most will be excited to have finally secured a residential stand. Running around to have your house plan approved and securing funds to start building. It is a wonderful feeling and building your first home is something that you will remember for the rest of your life!

The advice given below is for first timers who will be engaging individual builders to construct their homes. If you have enough money then you can enter into an agreement with a contractor who will build your house and deliver a complete product. This option is however expensive and this is why most prefer to engage individual builders.

So what are the top 3 problems that you are likely to encounter?

Unscrupulous builders: Here is someone you are going to like or dislike for the rest of your life. Get it wrong and the project is going to be a disaster!  Make sure that you get a reputable builder or contractor to do work for you. First shortlist a couple of builders like 3 or 4 and then do reference checks. Do not do one reference check but more checks of projects that they would have worked on. Choose the one with the best references to do work for you.

Use of Helpers: The builder is likely to recruit helpers or ‘Dhaka boys’. If you do not check what is happening, the helpers can end up building as well. These inexperienced helpers may even be left doing the job whilst the main builder seeks other work. He will only turn up at specific times so as to conceal evidence of absence from work. This practice is rife in Harare and is the number 1 headache for a first time builder as it often results in shoddy work.

Building Material Disappearance: Most builders get money from selling excess building materials, this is a given. They make you buy more cement and sell the extra bags. They can even say we have run out of cement so that  you can compensate for the stolen cement bags. This practice of stealing building materials starts from the foundation up to roofing level. When you involve them in drafting a bill of quantities, chances are high that they will be including their ‘profit share’ in the materials to be purchased.

Proposed solutions

We have mentioned the need to vet builders as a starting point, discuss with others who have built houses or will be building in your area. They will give you tips on the top risks of engaging independent builders to construct your first house. Secondly we encourage you to be involved in certain critical stages of building your home such as the foundation.

The rule number 1 of building your home is that’ You should be physically available’ when your foundation is being built. In your planning, take leave for a few weeks from your employment and ensure that you oversee the construction of your foundation. Do not second anyone-you should be physically available, get an independent expert to assist you if you can afford. Most builders are unscrupulous and will find ways of duping you during this stage because this is where most of the funds are used. This is where you spend more money on cement, bricks and more. For the unethical builder-the foundation represents a cash cow! This is where they make the most money through stealing materials.

Can you use a relative to oversee the foundation construction?

We mentioned above that you should be physically present right? Now what if you are busy and decide to second a relative to the project? A good friend of mine seconded a close relative to the project and guess what happened? The relative ended up conniving with the builders and stealing building materials! He thought everything was right only to be shocked when he found a lorry fetching cement at his construction site. So the fact is -do not trust anyone with overseeing your construction project especially at critical stages such as the foundation stage. If you are in the Diaspora then it can be worse-expect ridiculous prices, shortages and missing building materials. If you are not physically present then expect prices to shoot by more than a half.

After ensuring that the foundation is complete, you can leave the builders to finish the construction knowing fully well that  your home will not crack in future because of looted building materials. Do take leave again when roofing your home because this is another critical stage like the foundation where a lot of money is used and thus presenting high risk with carpenters selling roofing materials if not closely monitored.

So there you are, do monitor your construction projects and make sure you are physically present at certain critical stages. Do not miss our next article when we feature Zimbabweans building homes in Australia.

We are sharing with you a brilliant presentation on the Ease of Doing Business in Zimbabwe done by Ross Kennedy.

Its now 2 weeks with our offices having been opened-loads of work involved in setting up the offices. Bank forms filling by board members and the secretariat, filling TelOne forms to open a landline and official email for the forum, designing forum strategies, forum organogram, employee contracts and organisational policies….hey what a hectic period it has been for everyone involved in office setting up.

The aim is to create a world class forum that will definitely leave a mark on the business sector in the region. We are fortunate to be a diaspora friendly forum that draws its strength from the diverse backgrounds of its members. Half of our board members are diasporans, these diasporans bring much needed experience and skills in setting the agenda for the forum. We have 3 qualified accountants on the board, Farai a CPA, CGMA based in USA, Tavaziva a Chartered Accountant based in UK and yours truly a Chartered Management Accountant, CGMA based in Harare. We also have an Engineer, Farai who is based in SA, Rutendo a lawyer who is a civil servant and works with the Prison Service. Polite Ndlovu based in Plumtree holds an MBA plus a lot of NGO experience. Rudo(UK) and Laureen (USA) are both working in the medical field and bring a lot of experience on working with youths an women. Our board chair Ms Martha Tholanah was recently voted amongst the 100 most influential Zimbabweans. An international award winner on Human Rights, Gender and HIV and Aids, she brings more than 30 years leadership experience in the NGO sector.

All of these skills, Engineering, Law, Consulting, Medical Industry, Accounting & Auditing, NGO Management and Entrepreneurship will be harnessed so that we can deliver a high quality service! At ZBIN our philosophy is that there is always a way-we do not dismiss business ideas at face value. In most cases if it is not feasible, we park it for a while and revisit it when the environment or conditions are conducive. Imagine in 1995 if someone had said they are working on a model to enable people to bank money using phones? Imagine if someone had mentioned working on a Social Media project? They would have been dismissed as day dreamers, ridiculed and perhaps recommended for Ingutsheni! Such is the nature of business, what made no sense yesterday will make sense tomorrow. What is laughable today will earn millions in future-in business the boundaries have been removed, in business monopolies are being dismantled…its nolonger business as usual. If you do not change or adapt then you will fall by the wayside!

ZBIN is coming in as an engine of innovation, a platform where Zimbabweans share their business ideas-no idea is silly, no idea is impossible. We do not particularly like the word NO! We will work around the word or answer No and find a way.

So what is coming up this week?

Office start up completion-we are hoping to have a landline, official email, posters and forum bank account in place by end of week.

ZBIN Online Forex Trading Meta Trader 4 Training-On Friday at 3:00pm, we will host members of the online forex trading group for a hands on training on forex trading. Kindly note that this is a follow up meeting-there is a training for first timers on the 8^th of July 2017. Do not attend the Friday one if you are blank and do not know what online forex trading is.

Partnerships-Interesting discussions we had yesterday with someone who will partner ZBIN in an educational facility initiative. Expect to see banners with ZBIN in the coming weeks.

Donate a Book Campaign-We keep dreaming and bringing some of the dreams to fruition….we are sting up a resource centre for the forum. A walk in resource centre for entrepreneurs. A place where they get everything that they need, from opening bank accounts, managing small businesses and website management. With a wifi already in place for all ZBIN members, this is a great initiative by the forum. Visitors to our offices should be able to check for resources online and also get material from our office resource centre. We are therefore asking you to donate old books on business, women and youths or motivational books. This is our contribution to the entrepreneurial community, you too can play a part.

ZBIN Volunteer Program-kudos to the massive response to our appeal for volunteers to inbox me. Iam still going through the hundreds of emails received and will reply to each one of you. The concept is that of helping the business community by providing mentorship to SMEs in need of technical expertise. We know you are busy professionals with hardly anytime to spare-so we are developing a scheme that takes into consideration all of these limitations. More details to come in due course-if you missed the post that i did put, kindly send an email to vicmunemo@yahoo.com

This is enough for this week, a lot on our plate, we would like to thank those who have been formally subscribing to the forum. The tender tracker should be hitting your inbox as well as 3 interesting and practical business opportunities in the Food, Baking and Educational sectors.

The Zimbabwe Business Ideas and  Network forum is slowly building up a resource centre for entrepreneurs. We have already created a virtual resource centre with this site. On this site you can find a lot of information on opportunities in Zimbabwe. We have also added a couple of downloads such as business plans, taxation documents and ‘how to’ business templates. We are slowly building our resource centre so that our offices can become a one place centre for entrepreneurs. A place where they have access to information on opportunities and get to read inspirational books on entrepreneurship. With a membership of more than 30,000-our centre should become the busiest in the country in the coming few months.

Our next challenge is resourcing the resource centre with business or motivational books to help entrepreneurs who visit our offices. We are therefore appealing to you to look at some of the books you may not need and donate to the forum if feasible.

Kindly get in touch with the forum admins  phone numbers : +263774081808/+263 772 727 827 or email vicmunemo@yahoo.com

Thanking you in advance

This writer enjoys formulating and implementing strategies-there is no better joy than developing a strategy and seeing its successful implementation! As ZBIN, we have been busy with a lot of planning so that we can come up with a winning strategy. A strategy that will see us occupying a certain space in the business sector in Zimbabwe and the region. More of this strategy will be visible in the coming few weeks.

This afternoon we have decided to share with you one strategic model that is used whenever one is doing business planning, implementation or review. You need to always be aware of your environment, miss what is happening in the environment and you have set yourself for failure!

Take for instance the prevailing environment in Zimbabwe which is characterised by cash crisis, a slowing economic growth and elections coming next year. If you fail to acknowledge developments in the environment then whatever you may be planning may not be effective, if you plan to purchase equipment from abroad but fail to acknowledge current challenges in accessing forex then your plan is bound to fail.

There are a number of strategic or management tools that management professionals use in planning and assessing the environment and today we would like to zero in on one of them. We will try to simply it so that non finance professionals can comprehend it.

The model is called the PESTEL model and basically means Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environment and Legal environments. At ZBIN we use this tool every Monday morning during our meetings. We do not want to be caught by surprise, we would like to know threats and opportunities that are presented by the environment that we operate in.

PESTEL Example

Political: You need to be aware of the political environment in the country-we are headed for elections next year! The political heat in the country should be heating up in the next few months, we can expect a lot of policies that affect business in general. New policies being formulated or reviewed, Politicians promising the electorate heaven on earth…we have gone through this path before. Last time we had debts clearance for rate payers who had long outstanding debts with city and rural district councils. Expect surprises, nothing can be dismissed during election times-like already mentioned-we have travelled this path before. So take note of any policy change which can impact the operations of your business.

Economic: Related to Politics is the Economy, always be aware of what is happening in the economy as this directly affects your business. Do follow the Monetary Policy, do follow Budget presentations and review. What is Honourable Chinamasa saying about the economy? What are the government plans in relation to the economy? Is he projecting an economic increase due to the performance of the Command Agriculture? What is the Reserve Bank Governor saying about the current cash crisis? What are they saying about ZIMASSET? As a business person always take an interest in what happens in the economy and various statements that the government issues in relation to the economy.

Social: What are the changes in demographics-population, change in tastes? If you are a business person and you fail to acknowledge that Zimbabwe’s population is now made up of more than 67% youths then you are missing the mark! Youths now dominate the landscape which explains why certain political parties are coming up with youths friendly policies and rallies-they know where  support is-Youths! If you are starting a business and fail to acknowledge the increasing influence of the Christianity community then again you are missing the mark! An estimated 4 million live in the Diaspora and remit close to $1 billion on a yearly basis. If as an entrepreneur you are not talking about the Diaspora then you are missing the mark!

Technology: Technology is playing a crucial role in business, we do not need to go far but refer to the current cash challenges and the promotion of electronic transfers. Do we need to remind you of the widespread use of social media by Zimbabweans?  Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter….more and more Zimbabweans are using social media and this attributed to the availability of affordable smart phones. There is significant growth in this sector with more people connecting to the internet. This means more opportunities for anyone who is developing a strategy for business, are you considering opportunities presented by developments in technology?

Environment: Here is an interesting observation that I have noted over the past few years. Whenever there are changes in the climate that results in drought or excessive rainfalls-something interesting happens-tremors affect Zimbabwe! Today the Eastern Highlands was hit by earth tremors around 4:30am! I had anticipated it and discussed this with friends in March, using my little geographical knowledge, I knew that the above normal rains received in the 2016-2017 rainfall season would exert pressure on the earth crust and cause some tremors! Changes in the climate affects everything in Zimbabwe…if we experience good rainfalls then we can expect the economy to perform better! If we experience a drought then we can expect to import more grains and this affects the performance of the economy in an adverse manner.

Legal: This area is broad and covers the regulatory environment, registrations of companies, changes in policies such as the Statutory Instrument SI64! What are the new policies that the government is thinking of or working on introducing? Are they planning on banning anything? You should be aware of this area as it directly affects your business.

Where can you use PESTEL?

Use the model during weekly meetings, whenever you are setting a weekly agenda do think of the PESTEL model. Whenever you are discussing issues be they opportunities or  risks, do consider the PESTEL model. You do not have to use at organisational level-even at personal planning level-are you taking into considerations developments in the environment?

Conclusion

So do not plan in isolation, take note of the environment -developments in the environment in relation to the areas we mentioned above. Is there anything new coming up? How will it affect you in the short, medium and long term? What strategies are you going to put in order to mitigate risks presented or opportunities that will emerge? We end it by saying -Ignore the environment at your own peril!

This week I travelled all the way to the small and surprisingly busy town of Binga to facilitate a workshop on nutrition gardens. Usually when one hears the word Binga the first thing that comes to mind is poverty, malaria and malnutrition, I like the rest of my team was surprised to find a well developed and still growing urban center with all the facilities that you can think of banks, market, etc. Like most Zimbabweans out there who are always seeking for that extra dollar I took a little bit of time from my busy schedule to explore for potential business opportunities that are available and in line with the main objective of ZIBN share with the rest of the forum to benefit everyone.

Vegetable demand

Naturally as an agronomist with a strong bias towards fresh produce, I headed for the market and there I had a very interesting conversation with one of the ladies amaiShumba selling her produce. It is quite interesting to note that all their fresh produce which includes tomatoes, cabbages , onions, covo, rape vegetables, comes from Bulawayo which is about 400 km away there is literally no other supplier. Let us use cabbage as an example in order to simplify the numbers game which we are all interested in, the average price of a head of cabbage, a small one is 1 USD, and the bigger size is 1.50/head, on average each one of them sells about 80 cabbages/week and they are about 4 dedicated ladies in the market who sell these. This translates to about 320 cabbages that is 320 USD, taking into consideration the biggest variable which is transport cost of which these women are charged roughly 5-10USD to transport 100 cabbages that is 15-30USD the average profit that one stand to gain is roughly 250 +, from just 300 cabbages. Another interesting point to note is that even the local boarding school/hospital and orphanage purchase all their fresh produce all the way from Bulawayo meaning a huge market and in my mind as the lady was speaking, I was already busy calculating and seeing my pockets getting healthier.

Fresh fish business

After the lengthy and fruitful conversation with AmaiShumba, we then set off for Mlibizi which is more of a resort and fishing area. It is here were I saw how innovative Zimbabweans can be inorder to get that extra dollar but first things first. I am sure everyone is interested in the numbers so let me not waste time and let me get right into it, here fresh fish from the mighty Zambezi river mainly breams is sold at 1.50/kg wholesale price and if you have established a good relationship with the fisherman you can even negotiate to 1.20/kg. Considering that fish is sold at about 4USD/kg at your local supermarket that is a huge profit margin of more than 100% even after deducting your variable costs such as transport and fish transporting license which will cost you about 10USD at the local authorities office. Some would prefer to transport their fish illegally at night to evade the veterinary inspectors to Bulawayo, I do not encourage this practice as you run the risk of losing out if caught. I was reliably informed by one of the fisherman that they are usually booked before they even bring in the catch of the day, this means the “big shots” as they call them come and buy their entire catch exclusively each catch worth about 800-1000 USD. The buyers range from the big shots to your average entrepreneur lady who buys 2 buckets of fresh fish to sell murayini.

The locals have also taken advantage of the booming business and are now providing fridge for hire business, they will charge you on average 2 USD/20kg sack of fresh fish to store overnight and keep your fish frozen and ready for transportation. The local civil servants who have electricity at their houses have not been left out as well as they are also renting out their fridges, those who have been in the business long enough now have even purchased the L.P gas powered refrigerators or the kerosene powered ones in order to get that extra dollar.

In conclusion ladies and gentleman lets not spend most of the time complaining about how bad things are, I challenge you to take the initiative hunt for that extra dollar.

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