Diaspora Matters

In crafting corporate strategies most companies often carry out and review a lot of research data on the business landscape which inform them on best courses of action to pursue and monitor. The strategies crafted become the guiding compass in navigating the fluid business landscape which has been classified as VUCAH (Volatile Uncertain Complex Ambiguous and Hostile). One area often left out or not adequately covered is the impact of the informal sector on corporate business strategies. With Zimbabwe having the second highest per capita informal sector on earth (second after Bolivia), every business can therefore only ignore the sector at its own peril.

It is estimated that between 80 to 90 percent of Zimbabweans are engaged in informal economic activities, and that the sector, which is also linked into supply chains and the formal economy, accounts for 40 percent of Zimbabwe’s GDP.

The informal sector is often viewed with different lenses; firstly, in a positive way as a safety net, provider of employment, a key driver of economic development and innovation. A stimulator of private ownership and entrepreneurial skills.  Secondly; viewed more negatively as a whole segment of society that escapes regulation and therefore as a vast area of backwardness, poverty and unsanitary working conditions. The sector also plagued by criminal practices such as smuggling and tax evasion practices.

Lessons for the corporate sector

One of the biggest problems from a monetary policy perspective is financial exclusion of the informal sector. An estimated US$ 1,5 billion circulates in the informal economy and this comes at a huge opportunity cost to the overall economy. This is a significant amount with risks of continued expansion unless concerted efforts are taken to incentivise financial inclusion.

There are also some industries where the informal sector now has absolute dominance after crowding out the formal sector. According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe the 2021 gold mining output shows that artisanal miners officially provided 18,4 tonnes, whilst official channels provided 11,1 tonnes. The figures exclude massive smuggling of gold as revealed by Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe. It is therefore official that most of our gold is coming from the informal sector! There are other sectors of the economy where the informal sector has a significant share such as the clothing sector. It is also important to note that when big monopolies fell such as ZUPCO, ZISCOSTEEL and CSC, the informal sector filled the gap.

Small businesses are also market developers especially in new areas where big brands take time to enter and therefore short run monopoly profits for small businesses before retail behemoths pounce on the markets. The growth of peri-urban areas in Greater Harare such as Domboshava, Goromonzi, Seke and others has spurred the rise in small businesses that are enjoying first mover benefits before big brothers follow the profits trail. In neighbouring countries, Zimbabwean products are being pushed by cross border traders into countries such as Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. This creates room for big corporate companies to explore regional market expansion potential as follow on movers.

Apart from dominating certain industries, small businesses also pose serious competition to established big brands. Some are even getting tenders ahead of industry market leaders. Whilst the local manufacturing output shot up sharply in 2021 due to a number of factors such as forex auction system funds access and also to a large extent due to border closures. The honey moon maybe slowly coming to an end as more imports floods the market. The competitive advantage the informal sector possesses is sensitivity to consumer needs and flexibility in addressing them. There is no much time lost in boardroom brainstorming and related bureaucracy in responding to market dynamics. As for new foreign businesses, they may need to study how Pep Stores quickly retraced its footsteps back to South Africa a few years back.

Most value chains incorporate the informal sector in one way or the other posing risks and opportunities. Some incorporate them directly and therefore creating linkage opportunities for B2E (Business to Business). We have case studies such as Delta through small liquor shops and Innscor which partners with tuckshops in bread supplies. Old Mutual also provides formal space for small businesses.

It is interesting to note that in some cases what big corporate companies may ordinarily classify as consumers are in some cases small tier businesses that come in between their businesses and final consumers. Opportunities for big corporate are also emanating from efforts from several development partners working on income and livelihoods projects. The development partners are employing strategies of formal linkages between established retail brands and small businesses in order to facilitate markets access.

The informal sector is collectively still behind in standards and complexity but there are emerging pockets of excellence. The sector is benefiting from absorption of a lot of college graduates and also seasoned experts who are either retrenched or retired from formal employment. Some diasporas with access to advanced technologies are also engaging in the sector allowing technological knowledge and skills transfer such as small scale crypto currencies trading.

Despite a plethora of challenges such as dwindling consumer purchasing power, lack of working capital and intense competition; Zimbabwe’s informal sector has been resilient. The COVID-19 pandemic however increased its vulnerability and more recently the Russia/Ukraine conflict which has pushed up prices through imported inflation. Control measures such as waging a crackdown on informal street vendors, criminalising their activities and tearing down their stalls have not helped either. Studies have shown that only 1 out of 5 businesses survive beyond 5 years reflecting the tough survival environment of small businesses.

In conclusion we can draw lessons from across Limpopo where the corporate sector has not ignored developments in the informal sector but has resorted to meeting some of its needs. The emergence of informal savings clubs, stokvels and burial societies has seen some financial houses and retail shops coming up with tailor made packages to cater for the growing sector. Big retail shops such as Shoprite has also entered the Plazas Industry through partnerships with small business owners and in the process helping to formalize targeted business operators. SPAR partners with small scale out growers who supply them with agricultural products.

For Zimbabwe, the informal sector is here to stay and is set to expand as more involuntarily join it. By not renewing the work permits of 200,000 Zimbabweans, the South African government by default signed transfer letters for the affected workers to the local informal sector.

It is therefore imperative for the corporate sector to incorporate informal sector researches, insights and dynamics into their corporate strategies. They need to look at the evidence based data with opportunity and risks lenses. Opportunity lenses in markets development, value chain linkages and reaping the financial inclusion dividend. Risk lenses in terms of competition, smuggling of goods and tax evasion—the more the informal avoids tax payments, the heavier the taxes the corporate sector has to shoulder. An informal sector insights and analytics dashboard is therefore of critical importance in business planning and reviews.

In order to help our members get help efficiently, we have launched 2 help lines that are found on our Facebook Group Zim Business Ideas & Network.

Dodoma Emergency: Involved in any sort of emergency? Then go to our Facebook Group and type ‘Dodoma Emergency’ and post your issue. Our members maybe able to assist.

Bujumbura Wanted: Looking for any goods or services? Then like above, type Bujumbura Wanted and post your needs and our members will be able to assist.

The 2 posts likely to be buried by a lot of posts so unlikely to be on top but when you post on them, they will bump up so that others can assist you.

With time we hope to add more help lines and in future they maybe developed into full mobile apps.

Holding small business meetings is one of the toughest jobs in Zimbabwe. Getting more than 10 small business owners to attend a meeting looks easy on paper but not so in real life.

Our forum values networking as this unlocks plenty of business opportunities such as access to markets, sharing of resources and access to capital through crowdfunding. But for small business owners to leave their busy work and find time for meetings that would be asking for too much.

In Harare and South Africa we have made significant strides in mobilising our members to attend meetings leading to a massive 300 members attending our meeting at Capitalk FM in 2020. Bulawayo has been a struggle with not more than 7 members attending meetings over the past 7 years. Some even opted to travel to Harare for tours instead of Bulawayo.

We finally got the formula correct on the 5th of February with 19 members attending the forum meeting. Now we can safely say we have members in the second capital. Reliance on online numbers is tricky as anyone can join a group even non residents.

So successful meeting which will unlock plenty of opportunities for ZBIN Bulawayo. We wish them well in the crowdfunding initiatives which they will embark on.

Compiling books on opportunities is a daunting task as one cannot just sit behind a desktop and start writing about opportunities. One needs to research, experience entrepreneurship, conduct field tours and carry out a lot of surveys. The good news is that our forum now has 100k active members and therefore our book shares their experiences, insights and contributions.

This helps explain why it takes us 24 months before publishing new editions. Our past Business Opportunities Books include the 2018 and 2020 editions with the 2020 edition available for free reading on this site on the resources page.

So 2022 we give birth to an another exciting book which we hope will inspire you particularly college graduates exploring available opportunities in the country and across the globe.

The book contains 8 chapters which include farming opportunities, Business Plans –6 business plans, Advanced digital marketing, Clients experiences, Premium Chats, Zimbo Discussions and Risk Management.

A new inclusion is business plans which is essentially a spoon feeding initiative and also includes start advice to diasporas considering relocations back to Zimbabwe.

Our interest in the B2E model is apparent as shown by the noise we made in 2021. To those always asking what businesses they could venture into? Our answer is enable others to make money–Business 2 Entrepreneur. We covered in detail this model with a couple of case studies.

Zimbo Discussions Chapter is another exciting chapter that covers a few top forum discussions on business with more than 50 forum members providing feedback through comments.

There is little material on practical digital marketing in Zimbabwe–what works locally, so our advanced digital marketing chapter covers local experiences on digital marketing and written in simple to understand language. This is our follow up to Digital Marketing introduced in our 2020 edition.

Our Premium Chat covers some of the premium chats hosted in 2020 including Maputo Opportunities, Angolan Opportunities, Auto spare parts opportunities, Hybrid Paw Paws and our own forum experience of one of our companies that manufactures mealie meal.

Why did we include the Clients Experience Chapter? Zimbabwe is generally a poor service country but this creates opportunities to those who plug the gap. We have personal experiences from Thailand and how this can be implemented locally and outclass competition.

We end the book with Risk Management viewing risks as opportunities and also as less benign. A couple of areas such as ponzi schemes, cyber security, practical case studies of risk mapping and forum contributions too.

We do not want to beat our own drum but believe we have just published one of the best books on business opportunities in the country. And the book will help inspire future readers as most of what we covered is timeless.

The book is for those in entrepreneurship, those contemplating joining and those interested in analysing business opportunities in Zimbabwe.

The book comes out this week and being sold for US$5 per print copy (This includes automatic subscription to the forum), the print copy is available for US$20 and also includes automatic forum subscriptions.

Our contact numbers are +263774081808 for Whatsapp or +263773 055 063 for direct calls.

The marginal utility from importing second hand vehicles from Japan should be waning. This is what we have been doing for the past 2 decades and clearly there is nothing new to tickle our fancy. Perhaps the hybrid cars such as the popular new Honda Fit?

So what is likely to shape the future of business in Zimbabwe?

Welcome to enabling others to make money and today we tackle the manufacturing sector. Most of the machinery and equipment imported from China and in some instances—Taiwan, Thailand and India.

Our ZBIN Manufacturer of the year is Obey Nziramasanga, a mupositori who shares tonnes of information especially developments on the streets. Last year he did extremely well in soap and other detergents manufacturing. His portfolio also included hair oils and floor polishes.

This year he added mutton cloth manufacturing and the results have been amazing!

The mutton cloths used in mostly vehicles cleaning and bought by vendors who buy in bulk and selling at a huge profit. This is clearly a B2E (Business to Entrepreneur model). Did it take long to establish in the market?

Not at all as B2E has instant results—vendors have been queuing up on his door and now he cannot cope with supplies! His business secret is he kept in contact with his street value chain contacts.

Yes in Zim there is a huge street value chain which is not too visible but big pushers of products on Harare Streets. Those bringing new products such as biscuits, hats, mutton cloths and more do not create new supply lines. They simply link up with secret groups of these pushers and the results are often instant.

The street pushers include newspaper vendors and pirate music vendors. You cannot be a serious business person in Zimbabwe who ignores this informal value chain.

So you don’t necessarily need to copy and paste mutton cloth manufacturing but can also look at other manufacturing equipment such as;

Biscuits production: The newest foreign products in Harare are biscuits imported from Lesotho, Maseru. Previously biscuits were imported from Zambia and Durban, but Lesotho has taken over. So research more on this area, set up own biscuits manufacturing plant and get the streets busy.

Watertank and hosepipe manufacture: In Zim this market is now saturated but there is room across the region such as Malawi and Angola. Namibia introduced this business in 2019 showing that it was a late entry. Carry out own researches and venture into SADC. This sector also includes irrigation equipment parts manufacturing.

Hybrid Cars Convertor: The 4IR is already upon us and if you are in doubt, read the E-Passport story published widely yesterday. Hybrid cars fast filling up our roads and streets although it’s a long way before we have a significant population. With the future anchored on tech, question is what will happen to gas powered vehicles in Africa?

Discard them? Not feasible but in some countries such as China, vehicles are being turned into battery powered versions. You bring your petrol vehicle; the engine is pulled out and replaced by a battery powered engine system. With millions of cars around—what opportunities do you see?

The list of what you can venture into manufacturing wise is obviously long but this festive season we encourage you to spend more time on Alibaba.com and study machinery catalogues.

How much does it cost to set up your own small hotel? In the past the costs were quite huge but thanks to technology, the graph of costs keeps going down. In the past you needed bricks and mortar running from several thousands to millions dollars but not now.

A motel in Juliasdale in the Eastern Highlands has 7 tent domes and doing extremely well. The dome tents– a relatively new phenomenon in Zimbabwe but with time we hope to see more especially in the Eastern Highlands and other areas such as Harare and Bulawayo.

To those old enough they should have fond memories of the former Detema Safari Lodge outside Hwange which used to be the number 1 spot for tourists at the turn of the century. It was made up purely of trees and thatched grasses with the tree houses one of the best on the continent.

We do not know what happened to Detema Safari Lodge and also why the concept was not widely adopted.

Back to Dome Tents,

Source of Dome Tents=China.

All you need is land enough to set up between 10 and 15 domes with enough space between them to allow for privacy of visitors. The land can be along the shores of lakes such as Lake Mutirikwi, Lake Chivero, Lake Darwendale and Mazvikadei. There is plenty of land for lease by the National Parks Authority. Some years back Lake Chivero had a caravan park located next to Harare Safari Lodge which was quite popular but later on closed under unclear circumstances. This helps confirms that the concept has worked before.

One can even opt for land along our highways such as Harare-Mutare, Harare –Bulawayo, Harare-Mutoko, Mutare-Bulawayo and others.

Location can even be outside small towns such as Mvuma, Chivhu, Mutoko, Mrewa, Gwanda, Karoi and others.

Build Ons,

• Green Designs: Do not disturb the natural landscape by senselessly chopping down trees but rather incorporate nature into your designs.
• Security: Secure your land with fence—preferably razor wire or electric fence.
• The domes will need decks and one can use concrete or wood
• Build a reception area with good parking space.
• Build bathrooms for each tent, have private parking space for visitors.
• Build a dining room and laundry room.
• Recruit and train competent staff to manage your business. It would be better if the owner stays on the premises or somewhere nearby.

Your targeted clients will be international tourists and local tourists with a good eye and taste buds for finer things in life. If located outside town, then the place should be visible from the highway or closer to the highway.

The dome tents generally do not need much maintenance and care and can last for more than 5 years.

Risks: If you are leasing the land, once clients start flocking in, your rentals will increase with the landowner not factoring in that it’s a long way before you break even and start making profits! The land owner may even chase you away and grab the business.

This is not a get rich quick type of business as it requires patience and a long term vision. The premises need to be neat and services provided world class. With time value increases with possibilities for expansion or even opening in new places.

So all the best and kindly share feedback once done.

You can afford to forget thousands of posts we have shared with the forum but not this one—enable others to make money!

This is the trending business model which is fast changing the lives of locals and foreigners investing in Zimbabwe. Interestingly the model is even reflected on our stock exchange where blue chip companies are using the model in one or the other.

Fastest Business Launches

Varum launched Pepsi launched in Zimbabwe a few years ago but quickly gained acceptance and now well established. Why? It is because they identified a key market—vendors and incorporated them in their business model. Of course they also included major retail shops but enabling street vendors played a huge role in fast establishing their brand.

MetroPeech Wholesalers established a new branch in Sunningdale along the Seke Road last year but the centre did not take long before traffic clogged their driveways. MetroPeech deals with small businesses who are interested in making money!

Stock Exchange Counters

The biggest company by capitalisation on the stock exchange is Econet is we incorporate Cassava. Traditionally their clients were those interested in communication. However with Zimbabwe being home to the second largest informal economy on earth, most business owners interested in making money using their data for business! Ecocash ran into trouble with authorities when enabling others to make money ran out of control.

The Delta counter clearly also takes advantage of the model through targeting thousands of shop and bottle store owners.

Forum Experiences

When we formed our crowdfunding company of mealie meal production, our initial plan was of supplying our products to big retail shops—however we ran into gremlins as big retailers rarely accept start-ups. End of story? Not at all as we discovered that we could partner with tuckshops and by enabling to make money, our market access challenges were sorted!

Imports

The most imported vehicles in Zimbabwe are Honda Fits, Toyota Noah and Wish. These are the cars that dominate our landscape and why? They enable others to make money! So those supplying service kits need not look any further than cars that give others money.

Plastics importation has shot up over the years because they are being used to make plastic tanks and hospepipes—key money making inputs for those interested in making money in agriculture!

Borehole drilling equipment also became popular for investors interested in making farming income.

Network Marketing

Perhaps credited with popularizing the enable others to make money business model. Top brands such as Avon, Super life and others did not struggle to gain market acceptance due to enabling millions of Africans to make money.

Have you been into OK Shops recently? In the past they used to focus on collecting money from consumers but through Mukuru, Senditoo, and other leading money transfer agencies—Ok Shops has joined the make others make money chorus. Chicken Inn Bucks is another addition to a booming money transfer business model.

The Chinese Community

Those involved in manufacturing have no final consumer in mind. Visit Granitesite, Southerton, Workington and Msasa  in Harare and observe them in Tupperware, carpets, rugs, hosepipes, tiles and other products. The model is strictly enabling others to make money.

The model is fast; helps bring fast returns, and helps gain quick market access.

• Interested in a shop that sells sofas? Yes it’s feasible but be prepared to be very patient.
• Interested in selling clothing directly to consumers? Then read how our mealie meal company changed its business plan.

A Zbinite Obey Nziramasanga opened a mutton cloth manufacturing business recently and he cannot cope with demand as he is enabling others to make money!

So find a way to tweak your business model to join the make others make money frenzy if you have one already.

To new investors, review your business plans with making others make money lenses.

This business model could be argued to be Business 2 Business but with deep variations. For instance where is the B2B when you are procuring a borehole drilling machinery? Your targeted clients are consumers at face value but in Zim every C is fast being replaced with a B or E for entrepreneur..

With high unemployment, eroded pensions, challenging economy and a host of other challenges—everyone being turned into entrepreneurs across the continent. This means you can employ the model in Angola, South Africa, Botswana and Malawi too.

In Africa practically everyone being turned into business operations in order to look for monies or even augment income. So we find the educated, non educated; the employed and unemployed, the young and old—essentially everyone making it the biggest sector on the continent.

A new private school named Nattie has taken the social media landscape by storm. The school has upped the ante in terms of standards! The design definitely foreign and social media users have given thumps up. The only concern is will the fees be affordable?

Our 2022 Business Opportunities Opportunities Book which is nearing completion has 10 chapters and if you have read previous editions, then you should be familiar with Agriculture, Women Opportunities, Regional Opportunities, Digital Marketing, Youths Opportunities, Risk Management and other chapters.

However our latest edition has a chapter of 10 carefully selected short business plans which include mushrooms, arts and crafts, mealie meal production, Beira Beach Hotel and private schools.

We briefly cover private schools an area that is experiencing growth over the years with established brands opening new branches across the country. Talk of Herentals, Reekworth, Tynwald Primary School, Mother Touch and more.

Zimbabwe‘s population keeps increasing exerting pressure for public goods such as schools. However the government and local authorities not able to meet demand therefore leaving a huge gap being plugged by private investors.

New areas in Harare such as Retreat in Waterfalls, Madokero in Tynwald, Sandton in Westgate, Eastview and more need investors for schools and colleges. The peri urban including Nyabira, Domboshava, Epworth, Snake Park, Seke Rural and others are in need of quality schools but there are few takers.

Minimum Basic Requirements

Premises: One can buy commercial stands for sale but this is often pricey. Substitutes include buying houses with large stands, convert premises into classes—build more classes including ablution facilities. Where no space is left, hire sports grounds like what Waterfalls Gardens do.

Transport: one need a bus for transportation of pupils and this is a plus often considered by parents as they compare schools.

Good quality furniture: Well furnished class rooms a great advantage. This includes tiled floors, and great school halls.

Staff Retention: The greatest asset in a school are teachers and the admin staff. Remunerate them well and watch as your investment brings great returns over time. A high staff turn- over for a new school is a red flag!

E-learning facilities: Having laboratories including a computer lab a great competitive advantage as the education sector embraces the digital economy.

Registration: The mushrooming of private colleges shows that registration processes are no longer rigid like in the past. Research on private schools registrations with local authorities and relevant education ministry departments.

Bear in mind that it takes time for a private college to get established and therefore expect losses or break evens in the first few years as you establish your brand. Parents are often sceptical of new schools and most watch from the terraces others taking the risks of enrolment. When great results starts trickling in then you have arrived, your time to recoup all investment costs and earn profits.

With traffic congestions now a permanent feature, most parents are opting for suburb based good schools for their children—a trend you can benefit from as CBD based schools lose appeal.

Extra funds permitting, one can also set up boarding facilities as sending pupils to far flung places goes out of fashion due to logistics challenges.

Interested in owning a private school? You have more researched to do with one option being pooling of funds from like- minded individuals. Workers getting retrenchment or pension packages, Zimbos in South Africa with expiring permits etc

The good thing about this sort of investment is you are unlikely to lose most of your capital as you have title to your real estate.

At one time the local media reported that about US$2 million circulated in Mbare on a daily basis! We do not have recent stats but still the figures could be close given that the Mbare Vegetables Market is the biggest one in the country drawing suppliers and clients across the country.

A lot of fruits and veges go to waste everyday and cumulative figures could run into several tonnes per per year worth hundreds of thousands or possibly millions of dollars.

Good folks, opportunities presented for startups that can collect excess products and process them for sale.

Requirements

# Buy or rent a home in Mbare or nearby industrial sites of Graniteside, Ardbennie, Workington or Southerton.

# Procure drying machinery from China with price ranges starting from US$10k

# Procure a truck for ferrying produce from Mbare and for delivery purposes.

# Learn about branding from a Zbinite Blessing Shumbakadzi based in Bulawayo. She has world class branded products.

# With time sensitise farmers to deliver material to own premises whenever they encounter market flooding. Instead of throwing away produce, they can obtain a return that may help in cost recoveries.

# Have collection centres at Mbare and even add Chikwanha vegetables market with time.

Of course these are the basics which needs to be followed after an extensive market research which factors the quantity of vegetables and fruits going to waste, the prices farmers would be willing to pay, the costs and revenues involved and in summary–viability of the venture.

The market includes local shops, tuckshops and leading brands such as Food Lovers.

Additional Benefits: The area of food recycling topical and attracting donor funding and prizes.

The future of business opportunities is right there in the communities! With the forum having 100k members, the challenge is to effectively link up everyone so that they can support each other in business!

This is no doubt a tough initiative as it involves holding small meetings in areas where our members live and developing quality business relationships. We are proud of the small steps we are taking every month and we are confident of success.

So over the past weekend we held 4 meetings in 4 areas namely;

Ruwa, Kambuzuma, Waterfalls and Kempton Park in South Africa and we would like to thank everyone who attended. If you missed out, then try at the end of the month or in December.