Diaspora Matters

Know your product, your customers and your investor! When investors listen to a “pitch,” establishing whether or not someone has a good business idea is the easy part. Most investors walk away because they’re not convinced they can trust you with their money. It’s really that simple. If I don’t tell you this, I will have done you a disservice. It’s nothing to be angry or bitter about.

This post must be read with the other two posts I’ve done on this subject. If you haven’t yet done so, I suggest you read them carefully, including my comments and those of your colleagues.

For those of you who missed last week, here’s a summary of Neil Patel’s first four pitching “tips”: 1) Take only ten minutes; 2) Turn your pitch into a story; 3) Be laser-focused; and 4) Explain EXACTLY what your product or service is.

Neil’s article continues with Tips #5 thru #8:

“5. Explain EXACTLY what is unique about your product or service.
If you are not producing or providing anything different from the run-of-the-mill widget, don’t even go to the meeting. Go back to your drawing board, and design something better.

6. Explain EXACTLY who your target audience is.
Use demographic and psychographic features to pinpoint your customers. Show investors a picture of a customer along with relevant data points.

7. Explain EXACTLY how you intend to acquire these customers.
Business success comes down to marketing. If you have a marketing idea, method, technique or process, this is your chance to showcase it. Contrary to pithy maxims, great products don’t sell themselves. You sell the product. To be persuaded, investors have to see an airtight strategy for getting the product to market.

Most VCs are well aware of the advantages of digital marketing and won’t take a second glance at a product that isn’t backed by a tactical plan for online marketing.

8. Explain your revenue model.
Investors invest because they want to make a return on that investment. An investor will care about your pitch if you can answer this question: ‘How will my company make you rich?’

The answer, in investor-speak, is your revenue model. Specifically identify which type of revenue model you are embracing, and how you intend to apply it. . .”

***

__By now you know that one of my favorite TV shows of all time is Shark Tank. I hope Neil’s excellent tips #1 thru #8 are preparing YOU to “swim with the sharks”! In my comments last week, I drew your attention over and over again to the need for you to understand investors. When you do your pitch, you must remember:

# Investors are not donors.

# Investors are not tourists.

# Investors are not philanthropists or charities.

# Investors have options.

If you have the opportunity to pitch to an investor, consider it a privilege rather than an entitlement:

# A good investor will never put money into a venture run by someone who comes across as arrogant, cocky or argumentative.

# A good investor will never put money behind someone who is dishonest, corrupt, or a thief. If you have a tendency for dishonesty or misuse of other people’s money, a good investor will find out before they give you a cent!

# A good investor will not put money behind someone who is careless or disorganized.

# A good investor will not invest in someone who is highly emotional. Being passionate is one thing, but being emotional is not acceptable!

# A good investor will not invest in someone who is political. You should understand the politics of your country from an economic perspective, but not come across as an active participant in politics.

Being a good investor is very hard!

__Your job is to show them that you can be trusted with someone else’s money.

The Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network forum is a forum that values continuous improvement, the Japanese call it Kaizen! We are always researching and coming up with new innovative ways to help our members.

One area we have been looking at is Women Empowerment, our forum  is made up of more than 50% women and this compels us to always research on programmes that empower them. We have covered Agriculture, Baking and Cooking as a business and now we have an exciting programme-tapestry!

A first of its kind in Zimbabwe, members and followers should be able to make rugs for sale. This will earn extra income for our members, save or earn forex for the country. Training is going to happen at our offices in Monavale on selected weekends. We will roll out the trainings to members in Bulawayo, Mutare, Gweru and other areas.

If you are interested then we urge you to keep watching your favourite business site for more updates.

The Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network has got great plans underway-we are planning of a Grand Opening event for the forum! Having been in existence for over 2 years, this will be a great platform to open up the forum to the public.

We are looking at inviting everyone who is a member of this forum and those who have been following  us. A chance for you to mix and mingle with ZBIN Board members, Management staff and subscribed members.

The most popular and followed business forum will open its doors for the first time and this provides you with a chance for  to ask questions and be answered. A great chance for members to bring friends and show them proudly that ‘you formed ZBIN” Kuti tisu takagadzira forum ye 30,000 members sekutamba sekuseka!

There is no better way to celebrate the official launch of the forum and our offices than to have you visit our new offices! We hope to have some of our experts whom you will meet face to face and engage in discussions. They will tackle sectors such as Online Forex Trading, Poultry, Agro-business, Baking, Mining, Rabbit Rearing, Company Registrations, Website Developments and Mozambique Opportunities.

Chance to appreciate this website

Did you know that developing a website is an easy process? Did you know that you too can develop one even without training? We will show you how to easily develop one. This website will be available for you so that you can know everything that happens behind the scenes-the easy set up, the statistics and you can also try your hand at writing an article and publishing your first website post.

Preparation

Come prepared for this important event, bring business cards or promotional material for your business so that we can share with hundreds of members expected to visit us. Come prepared to talk about your business and network with others.

We hope to have a number of handouts and newsletters covering some of our most popular articles. We will tell you update you with more details once we have finalized the dates.

Understanding the art of demand and supply in agriculture is very important, perhaps a little more important in fresh farm produce than other sectors. If you have been in the agricultural business or are intending to get into this business then you will find this article to be of great value -think of this as a little crash course in agribusiness. Have you ever wondered why a crate of tomatoes is selling at $18 when just a few weeks ago it was selling for 4 times less that amount?Well, the power of demand and supply has a lot to do with it.

The demand for cabbages, tomatoes,onions and other produce is to a great extent constant, but however the instability in supply tends to push the prices up or down. The causes of these fluctuations in Zimbabwe is largely due to changes in season as some crops do best in winter e,g Onions whilst some crops do well in summer. Supply to the market tends to be high when many farmers are harvesting their crop as well hence the knowledge to know when to strategically plant ,harvest and sell is key to running a successful enterprise as producing quality crop in the field is just half the battle, the other half is being able to sell the produce profitably.

What can the farmer do to enjoy better prices?

Those of you who are already in the business have at some point taken their produce very high quality produce be it tomatoes, cabbages etc to Mbare Musika vegetable market and found the market flooded with the same crop and the prices so low you almost collapse. Well the key to this is if you  have the capacity to plant off-season you should do so. This will shift the reliance on rain-fed cropping and create better market prospects for the farmer, as an innovative farmer you may consider investing in that green house , or drip irrigation kit to protect your crop from the elements and produce quality crop.

Second, farmers can try holding on to their produce for much longer. This would involve postponing harvesting for several more weeks as one awaits the prices to stabilise. This is an option only if the crop has good keeping qualities such as butternut however for crops such as cabbages and tomatoes this method is not advisable as the losses can be tremendous.

Contract farming as an option.

Farmers can adopt contract farming. In contract farming, the farmer agrees to sell their produce upon maturity to a specific buyer at a specific price. The advantage to contract farming is that the farmer is assured of a specific price. However, he/she might get a ‘raw deal’ if the free market price will be higher than the price agreed in the contract it’s a risk worth taking though. Contracts to supply can be between markets such as schools, prisons, churches, hotels, etc those.

Bypass the middle man

Farmers can also try to bypass the middlemen ’makoronyera’ as they are affectionately known at MbareMusika and take their produce directly to the market. Some of the middle man have actually done very well or are doing well  more than the farmer who is producing the crop. These guys know very well the dynamics of the market especially the issues of demand and supply. Depending on the amount of produce that you deliver to the market it might be worthy to carry out market investigations before sending your produce to the market so that you know the prevailing prices and conditions, but it is worth trying all the same.

Value addition

Adding value to your produce is one of the options that help improve your profit. I remember receiving input at a recent workshop on mushroom production whereby the farmer was producing and selling their mushroom to a certain supermarket in Harare at 2 USD/Kg whilst the supermarket would sell the same mushrooms cleaned and  packaged nicely at 4.50 USD/Kg. When we sat down and did the calculations the packaging only cost 35c/pack so the shop made more than 100% profit all because of 35c packaging sounds crazy right? Well that’s how business is made out there, so next time before you sell your produce how about thinking of value addition for maximum profits.

Emmanuel D.N Dube is the senior agronomist at Agro Aid Trust and Chief Agronomist at ZBIN. If you have any questions you can email him agroaidtrustzimbabwe@gmail.com /+263783 495 396

he Young Professionals Program (YPP) is a starting point for an exciting career at the World Bank Group.

It is a unique opportunity for younger talent who have both a passion for international development and the leadership potential to grow in fascinating top technical and managerial roles in the World Bank Group (WBG). The program is designed for highly qualified and motivated individuals skilled in areas relevant to WBG technical/operations such as economics, finance, education, public health, social sciences, engineering, urban planning, agriculture, natural resources and others.

To be competitive for this highly selective program, candidates need to demonstrate a commitment to development, proven academic success, professional achievement, and leadership capability.

We value diversity in our workplace and encourage qualified men and women with diverse professional, academic, and cultural backgrounds to apply. Since its inception, the YP program has hired over 1,700 people who hold or have held positions ranging from entry-level to vice presidents and managing directors. It is a unique opportunity to experience development and gain exposure to the World Bank’s operations and policies.

Every year, around 40 applicants are accepted into the program. Young Professionals are offered a five-year renewable term contract, spend 24 months in a structured development program, and enjoy a variety of benefits and opportunities.

Eligibility

Minimum Requirements

The following are the minimum requirements to be eligible for the Young Professionals Program.

• Citizenship of a member country of the World Bank Group
• Be born on or after October 1, 1985
• A PhD or Master’s degree and relevant work experience
• Fluency in English
• Full proficiency in one or more of the WBG’s working languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish is desired but not required
• Specialization in a field relevant to the WBG Technical/Operations such as economics, finance, education, public health, social sciences, engineering, urban planning, agriculture, natural resources, and others
• At least three years of relevant professional experience related to development or continued academic study at the doctoral level

Additional Qualifications

To be competitive for the limited number of positions, a combination of the following credentials is highly desirable:

• Display a commitment and passion for international development
• Possess outstanding academic credentials
• Exhibit excellent client engagement and team leadership skills
• Have international development country experience
• Be motivated to relocate and undertake country assignments

Program Features

Professional Experience

Young Professionals are expected to make significant contributions toward their unit’s work program while they gain a broad overview of the WBG’s policies and work. As part of their two-year program and in line with their units’ business needs and Young Professionals’ interests, they are expected to undertake a business driven “stretch/exposure assignment” where they will gain valuable on-the-job experience.

Field Work

Young Professionals in the Operations stream are likely to join colleagues on field business trips, also called ‘missions,’ in developing countries. These missions present invaluable opportunities for Young Professionals to experience firsthand the challenges of global development, understand key aspects of our work, and get exposed to WBG’s clients and their problems.

Training

A comprehensive development curriculum has been designed to ensure that YPs develop a WBG mindset, quickly gain the foundational learning needed to understand and contribute to the WBG, and build the competencies required at an officer’s level: collaboration, leadership, integrative thinking, and innovation skills, while strengthening a culture of continuous learning.

The curriculum includes a blend of learning activities in a WBG cohort, small groups or individually, ranging from on-boarding activities, e-learning, cohort discussions with WBG leaders, leadership training, to career development conversations, and networking opportunities.

Coaching and Mentoring

YP Buddy: Before they join, Young Professionals are assigned a YP buddy from the previous year’s group, based on their professional interests and cultural background. YP buddies help new recruits to better settle in the new organization and location, as well as to understand the expectations and challenges of the program.
Technical Buddy: In their hiring units and within the YP’s first week, an experienced colleague is assigned as a “go-to person” to answer technical questions in their fields.
WBG Mentor: In their second year, once they have settled into their jobs, Young Professionals are offered a mentor—a technical senior colleague—with whom they can discuss career options, “stretch/exposure” assignment opportunities, and gain insight into the organizational culture.
Peer-Coaching Groups: At several points during the year, Young Professionals meet in small subsets of their cohort to exchange—in a safe, intimate, and virtual format—some of the challenges they are facing and receive coaching from their peers, sometimes accompanied by an executive coach or an HR professional.
Youth Program Team: The Youth Program Team is dedicated to recruiting and helping integrate Young Professionals into the WBG. It coordinates activities designed to support YPs, including mentoring and guidance, helping formulate career strategies, and others. The Youth Program Team is a one-stop shop for Young Professionals looking for support and guidance.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary: As an entry-level professional in the WBG, Young Professionals are offered an internationally competitive salary, based on their education and professional experience.
Health, Life, Accident, and Other Insurance Programs: Young Professionals and their families (including declared domestic partners) may choose from three comprehensive medical/dental benefit plans. The WBG also provides basic life and accident insurance to all staff at no cost, and staff can elect optional life and accident insurance plans. The WBG provides disability and workers’ compensation coverage to staff at no cost.
Pension Plan: The WBG sponsors a comprehensive pension plan for eligible staff. Upon separation from the WBG, either a lump sum or a pension will become payable to the staff based on eligibility.
Relocation Benefits: These benefits are only applicable to staff who are not residents of the greater Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area at the time of appointment.
Relocation Travel: The World Bank will bear the cost of one-way transportation of staff and immediate dependent family from the staff member’s residence.
Relocation Shipment: You may choose to have the World Bank handle your shipping arrangements or you may elect the Optional Shipment Grant.
Relocation Grant: A one-time grant is included in the first paycheck to cover the cost of relocation.
Mobility Premium: A financial benefit is provided for a fixed period to cover expenses associated with being an expatriate staff member, based on family size and nationality. This benefit is not available for U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents who are based in Washington, DC.
Tax Allowance: U.S. staff receive an additional quarterly payment to cover the federal, state, and local income tax liabilities on their World Bank Group income. Expatriates and U.S. permanent residents do not incur U.S. income tax liability and are thus not eligible for this benefit.
Financial Assistance: The World Bank Group offers several financial assistance programs, including a two-year interest-free settling-in loan to those who relocate upon appointment.

Selection Cycle

Competition is keen. We receive thousands of applications for a limited number of positions. Most candidates exceed the minimum criteria.

Timeline

• June–September: Review of applications to ensure that candidates meet the eligibility criteria. Update of status to all candidates (candidates moving to the second round and those who are not moving forward)
• October: Technical review of second round candidates. This review takes a closer look into the application packages and determines those candidates who will be selected for interviews
• mid-November–late December: Status update to candidates (those invited to interviews and those who are not moving forward). Interviews are scheduled at WBG headquarters in Washington, D.C., USA and our office in Paris, France
• December–January: YPP interviews: learn more about the YPP interview process
• February: Decisions and offers are communicated
• September: New YP cohorts start

YPP Interviews

Evaluation Criteria

We assess candidates based on three main competencies:

Client Orientation

– Commitment to Clients

– Results Orientation

– Integrity and Ethics

Professional Expertise

– Technical Expertise (Depth & Breadth)

– Strategic Perspective

– Problem Analysis

Team Leadership

– Teamwork

– Listening and Communication

– Innovation

– Negotiation

Further on, we ensure that candidates have the ability to work in multiple sectors.

Format of the Interview Day

The interview is a full-day event. Those invited to interviews will be asked to come to the WBG from 8 am-5:30 pm.

The interview consists of:

(1) Interview: a 1 hour interview with a panel of three senior technical experts in the field of expertise of the candidate; and

(2) Assessment Center: either a morning or an afternoon 4-hour group assessment center (AC). The group assessment center is done with four other candidates. It consists of a series of individual and group exercises related to an international development case study that is given to the candidates at the start of the AC

– Look for tips for interviewing at the World Bank Group

– Check this video to learn more about the assessment center from a Young Professional alumn

– Get familiar with typical World Bank Group documents and projects

Application Process

The application for the 2018 Selection Process for the Young Professionals Program at the World Bank will be opened from June 14 – July 28, 2017.

Before You Apply, please ensure that:

• You meet the minimum requirements for eligibility for the Young Professionals Program and,
• You have all the information at hand including key dates, an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV), Education Certificates/Transcripts, PhD Dissertation/Master’s Thesis topics (short summary), if applicable, and the Application Essay ready to be uploaded

Application Essay for the 2018 Selection Process

“Ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner are the driving missions for the World Bank Group. While the goals are simple to grasp, the efforts it will take to meet them are not. Just as there are many interconnected and overlapping causes behind extreme poverty, the solutions required are just as complex and unique to each country’s individual circumstances.  The fundamentals, however, remain true: countries must grow their economies inclusively, so that everyone benefits; they must invest in their people; and they must ensure that those who have left poverty do not fall back into it.

Yet, the world today is much different than it was even just a few years ago. The global community is facing challenges that are diverse in nature—economic, humanitarian, environmental—but that share key features. First, they threaten the hard-won development gains of recent decades; and second, they will not be contained within any one country’s borders. Millions of people have been forcibly displaced by conflict and live in ever-more fragile areas; the risks of pandemics can devastate the health of individuals, but also undermine countries’ economies; and the threats of climate change are becoming ever more apparent.

Everyone will be affected. Yet the poorest and most vulnerable will be affected most. To address these challenges, the World Bank Group is working to become a more agile partner in addressing the world’s most pressing problems. It aims to leverage and apply its unique capabilities to provide the innovative financing and creative solutions that support countries in dealing with these challenges at the local, regional, and global levels. As the world works to confront these challenges,

the World Bank Group will continue to play an essential role in supporting global development and working to safeguard the progress toward the 2030 sustainable development agenda.” (Extract from the 2016 WBG Annual Report)

Describe in fewer than 1,000 words your own contribution and the potential role of World Bank in resolving some of the above challenges. Focus on your area of expertise to describe your proposal.

Application Checklist

This checklist is meant to facilitate your application experience.

• Use Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, or Internet Explorer 10 or higher as your browser
• You will be asked to register for an account and provide an email address. Ensure it is spelled correctly and will be working for the next year or so, since this will be our main channel of communication with you
• You must complete your application in a single session and will be able to submit it only if you have uploaded all the required documents and answered all the questions (all questions marked with an asterisk—*—are required). Do not use any special characters in the application (e.g accents, cedille etc) as it may prevent your application from moving forward
• Provide the most current contact information, including your complete phone number (country code + city code + number). The information should be valid for one year. If your contact information changes during the selection process, (including personal address), it is your responsibility to email us the updated information
• Please attach the following documents (mandatory):
  o CV
  o Education certificates/transcripts
  o PhD dissertation/Master’s thesis topic (short summary), if applicable
  o Application essay

Files should not exceed 5 MB each and should be in the following formats: .doc, .docx, or .pdf

Once you submit your application, you will not be able to make any changes/updates.

Applicants will be informed of their status as the process moves along

Sometimes we get this question-‘Does Online Forex Trading involve going to Roadport and trade forex?’ The answer is that Online Forex Trading is not dealing in currency the illegal way. The basics for online forex trading involve you investing a lot of your time in learning about Online Forex Trading by visiting websites such as www.babypips.com. You can also search on Youtube about Online Forex Trading.

After reading material posted on www.baypips.com the next stage is for you to try online forex trading on a demo account. You assess your level of confidence before going live trading online forex.

Mind you, its not a get rich scheme but it is providing reliable income to some who have mastered it. The trick is to be part of a community that is involved in the trade. The good news is that we do have a community of more than 200 members who are trading or learning how to trade.

Before sending a request to join our group there is one requirement for you-take your time to study the attached manual. The last thing we would like is for someone to ask us what online forex trading is-you have to to know the basics and we have provided the basics on this site for you.

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ZBIN conducted 2 free sessions for more than 30 members, Online Forex Trading costs $150 but your favourite business forum provided the training free of charge. Members trained are already learning how to trade on the demo accounts before going live.

Our next stop on free online forex trading is Chinhoyi and lastly Bulawayo. It is strictly per request from our members-also take into consideration that this is not our core business so we help here and there whenever we can find time.

When i was in upper 6 I did the unthinkable, I asked for my own piece of land from my grand mother Mbuya Munemo! I had seen the value of land at a young age and decided to have my own piece of land before going to college. The question my grand mum asked was why i wanted land when i was not yet married, she added another question-why i wanted land at such a young age.

I did my best to explain that i was investing for the future and also the fact that noone had an interest in the land, no current grand son or daughter had interest in the land. To make matters worse a prominent banker was eying our ancestral land. To cut to the chase i got my own 5 hectares before enrolling for my Accounting Degree at a local university.

I had seen value in the land at a young age, the land was close to a reliable water source, our rural area is a 40 minute drive from the Mutoko Road toll gate-i did not make sense to me why most people were shunning the land. What also inspired my acquisition was the fact that my late grand father who had passed one before  i was born had an interesting story to tell about land.

My late grand father had moved from his area of birth, Gora in Mhondoro in search of land for his big family. He had done a lot to secure land for each child. Unfortunately when he passed on, most of his kids left for the city and few valued rural land. So i was the only muzukuru who carried on with the dream of my grand parents-full utilisation of rural land!

What businesses can you do with rural land?

Some Hararians are involved in a lot of agricultural activities in the peri urban areas such as Seke,Goromonzi, Domboshava, Chihota and Musana. We hope to carry out a detailed  study of these areas but most residents are involved in commercial activities that range from chicken rearing, rabbit rearing, piggery, cattle fattening. Some are involved in agro-processing activities and those with large pieces of land grow various crops such as maize, sugar beans, tomatoes, onions and cabbages.

Some are even setting up green houses especially in areas such as Domboshava and Goromonzi. What has enabled this investment is the availability of transport and a ready market of agricultural products in Harare.

We even have lorries that come to farmers inorder to help them ferry agricultural produce to the market. Long back it used to be farmers looking for transport, now the trend is reversing.

The availability of solar energy has also facilitated the expansion of agricultural activities because now people can sink boreholes and use solar energy to irrigate crops. The solar energy can also be used to provide light and other services to the household.

Below we feature an inbox request from one of our members. The responses covered are from our active members on our ZBIN Facebook Page.

Hello Admin, I hope i find you well. Please post for me on the forum… Im looking for an income generating idea on a 6 acre plot in a rural area quite a distance from an urban area but close to a seasonal water source.

Responses

Edson Chivanga What do you have in mind and how much knowledge do have for that so that we can start from there. In business every idea can give you a good outcome but the best one comes out of what you enjoy most and we can give you ideas to grow that vision.

Vokal DaPoet Depending on soil structure, there are a number of things that one can plant.

Rutendo Faith lavener
roses
aloe vera
ginger
tumeric
ginseng
coconut trees
strawberries
hazvina kuwandirwa especially if u have good capital plus soil will determine

Mai Mrehwa ginseng takes years to grow n be selleable

Penyai Rotai nhai anotenga aloe vera ndiyani

Rutendo Faith u try pharmaceutical companies nevanogadzira mishonga and herbs

Mudiwavashe Kamoto I like the plants outlined by Rutendo Faith koz sometimes zvoda kubuda mugurumwandira kuty uite mari. Kwete kungowa TOMATOES.

Justice Mungwini WHERE exactly z the plot…WHAT exactly do you mean by ‘seasonal water source’….HOW much capital u wanna invest…WHAT re others in that area doing…

Mudiwavashe Kamoto Above everything do yu have the calling in farming.Farming is a passionate venture it has to be something that comes from yur heart it’s not something you can do becoz others are making money out of it. Take yur tyme to do a self examination. It may sound weird but I tell yu. Yu just need to go on yur planning table

Do watch out for a television programme produced by your favourite business forum. The business programme titled ‘ Identify an Opportunity’ the aim of the programme is to help Zimbabweans to be able to identify opportunities in their local environments.

You do not need to have someone coming from your area to identify opportunities or even worse-to take advantage of opportunities that exist in your area. Grab opportunities that exist in your community! If you do not then someone else will….its as simple as that.

Identifying opportunities should be a skill that we should all possess. Putting together the opportunity into a viable business plan is the next stage with finding funding being the last.

We therefore hope to help Zimbos with the skill of identifying opportunities and we believe that it is going to be fun and will involve Zimbabweans from all walks of lives including the Diaspora community too.

To help illustrate the concept 3 weeks ago we were at Makoni Shopping Centre, we had briefly stopped at the centre whilst waiting for someone to show us directions to the Holiness Revival Church where we were scheduled to carry out a business presentation.

We gave ourselves a challenge-Identify opportunities at Makoni Shopping Centre in 3 minutes!

In 3 minutes to assess the state of the economy and predictions of the future, to have knowledge of the population of Chitungwiza and their needs. In 3 minutes to assess the level of competition at the centre and find out what is missing and also whether it is viable.

Guess what we came up with?

Our answer is Herbal Shop .

A herbal shop would be ideal because according to our last survey, Health Spending is amongst the top 6 areas where Zimbos are spending monies on. The centre has several pharmacies which only sell modern medicine. There is no shop concentrating on herbal medicine, a neat and presentable shop that sells herbs to Chitungwiza residents.

If we had more time at the centre we believe that we could have come up with more opportunities. So how did we identify this opportunity in 3 minutes? The answer is simple-we have trained ourselves to identify opportunities, identifying opportunities now run in our DNA and now we are going for speed, how many opportunities can you identify in record time?

We would like the nation to enjoy in the fun of identifying opportunities and a tv programme will do the trick. So watch for more details as we put all logistics in place.

I am sure at some point we all have gone into, passedor at the very least parked near  our local farming input hardware shop and noticed the seedling vendors often manning the pavements selling seedlings of tomatoes, onions , cabbages etc. That’s a business that almost anyone can get into with minimal resources, however if you want to run this business profitably then I suggest you go through this article as we speak about running a plant nursery business on a semi commercial to commercial basis and earning that extra dollar for you and your family.

Who can run a nursery?

The answer is quite simple, anyone can run a nursery business this includes you, the key factors like any other business are determination, skill and persistence. I will admit it may be a bit challenging at first as you might not have the pre requisite skill to rear seedlings successfully, in such a case it becomes vital to invest in attending that nursery management training workshop or simply have your workers trained on nursery management by a professional agronomist believe me it pays at the end of the day.

Who will I sell to?

The purpose of this article is to equip you with information so that you shift from seedling street vending for those who are already in the business to becoming a commercial seedling producer. You will be surprised that most commercial fresh produce farmers do not have nurseries on their farms and rely on purchasing seedlings or simply outsourcing their seedlings from reputable suppliers due to various reasons ranging from quality to cost cutting measures. Therefore it is very important to actively market your services and products to this market.

Which crops seedlings can I produce?

Depending on the season and market you can produce a wide variety of seedlings for the market. Onions and cabbages are ideal this time of the year as they can be grown well during this time of the year in Zimbabwe despite the winter season the list is endless. Another crop which can be grown and has great returns when sold as seedlings is the “golden leaf”,  tobacco seedling which by the way if you intend to transplant as irrigated crop in September/October the first week of June is the best time to plant the seeds in the nursery.

How much will I need to start up?

The positive thing about nursery production is the reduced labour costs as one or two people are required to effectively run a nursery catering for seedlings covering 50-100 hectares. The ultimate startup cost will depend on the method used in your nursery. I usually encourage  clients to shift from the conventional seed bed method to the advanced hydroponics systemwhich has the advantage of producing even sized seedlings, easy fertilization, easy pest management, easy water management. It will cost about 700 USD to set up, this includes the trays and liquid fertilisers that are used. I do admit this is a steep figure but let me make it clear that this is a once off investment which will pay you back in the long run. It takes usually 4 – 5 weeks to produce seedlings for most vegetables with each seedling sold between5c – 10c and producing a minimum of 20 000 seedlings that translates to about 2 000 USD  and then deducting variable costs you profit  800 – 1 000 USD minimum that’s a nice extra dollar every 5 weeks. Make sure to visit this page during the week for a detailed article on the hydroponics system.

How much space do I need?

Your own back yard can be used as a nursery  provided there is enough sunlight reaching the area. To produce 20 000 seedlings you may need only 50 m x 1 m that’s pretty manageable.

What challenges must I expect?

Like any business there is some risk involved, the major challenge that most farmers who are into this business face is quality issues , this is greatly reduced with the hydroponics system as well as employing skilled labour to produce your seedlings. The other challenge is that of finding a  reliable market, if you are just starting this business it is advisable to start small, start by selling to your friends, church mates, schools, small scale farmers etc, in the process you build yourself a reputation and business grows.

How best can I market my seedlings ?

I am not a marketing specialist but experience has taught me that a good reputation will attract good business.  A good reputation involves delivering the seedlings on the agreed date and producing quality seeds and most importantly don’t cheat the customer. I have come across a very interesting model were by the nursery produces seedlings which are paid for in advance by the farmer on a rotational basis or depending on your relationship with the farmer , the  nursery produces the seedlings and farmer is contracted to pay upon sale of produce at an agreed interest rate.

Emmanuel D.N Dube is the senior agronomist at Agro Aid Trust and Chief Agronomist at ZIBN. If you have any questions you can email him agroaidtrustzimbabwe@gmail.com/+263783 495 396