Diaspora Matters

So iam still to get convincing reasons why we use the Durban Port for our imports. Durban is 1675 kilometres away from Harare. Why not Beira which is 560 kilometres away? Another option is the Zambezi River from Indian Ocean-how about a port in Tete which is 350 Kilometres away from Harare?

The late President of Malawi, His Excellency Bingu wa Mutharika had started a project of widening the Shire River in Malawi so that the landlocked country could transport goods from the Indian Ocean straight to Malawi.

I’m not sure what happened to this brilliant project but I remember the leaders of Zimbabwe and Zambia attending the launch of this project. What happened to it? The project would surely have reduced transport costs for Malawi, Zambia and interior Mozambique.

So two months ago I was on the forum telling you the story of investment opportunities in Mozambique. I highlighted the opportunities that abound in our Eastern Neighbour and how other foreign nationals are benefiting. I invited members from here to join out Watsapp Group and the immediate task was to plan for a visit to the city of Tete.

The good news is that the group toured Tete last week . Tete is 350 Kilometres away from Harare. The group had initially made 2 tours to the same city. One in March and a follow up in April. So this Dec trip was the third one but with a completely new set of people. Credit goes to Clara Mapfumo and team for a successful tour of Tete.

The trip was an eye opener for the folks who participated, members witnessed first hand the developments that are happening at a fast pace in the city. The country has been affected by low commodity prices which seriously impacted on the operations of the Economy. Mines were not spared and this resulted in a lot of retrenchments and downscaling of operations. However there is slow recovery and for long term investors only the sky is the limit in Mozambique. South African investors continue to pour in investment and since our last trip in April, a number of new South African supermarkets have been established. New mines are being opened and this represents a seal of approval when it comes to investment.

Zimbababwens in Tete,

So what are Zimbos doing in this city which is equivalent to Gweru (some within the group argue that it will surpass Bulawayo soon). Zimbabwean nationals are into construction, some white farmers who left Zimbabwe are into farming. Some are employed by mines and transport businesses.

Investment Gaps in Mozambique.

1.Transport – there is room for more players n the transport sector for ferrying goods to and from Beira. Our Chinese friends are busy transporting logs cut from the rich forests of Mozambique to Chinese. On your way to Tete, you will see countless lorries ferrying logs and other raw materials. Watch out for the slow recovery of the commodity prices and opening of new mines and the opportunities tis may present to you.

2.Boutiques– This one is for small time investors with little capital-yes there is mazitye, mabhero clothes in Mozambique but for this Cidade, there is room for Zimbo investors who are serious in the fashion and clothes industry.

3.Foreign Nationals as a market– the increasing foreign nationals community presents a golden opportunity for investors- this rich community of professionals has needs. Education of their children(there are few good schools in Tete that teach English or with high education standards). This community require food, they need clothes etc. So one needs to carefully study this community and find out how you can benefit.

4.Fruit and Veges Market-last time I visited a Mozambican contact asked me to find a partner who with a refrigerated truck who can ferry sea food from Beira to Tete as there is a big gap with the current provider overcharging clients by as much as 500%. Investors to this city should look carefully at who is providing fruit and vegetables to this city of close to 300,000 people.

5.Mining Opportunities- new mines mean new opportunities for professionals and a lot of service providers. One of my friend provides security guard services to some of the mines in the province.

I will do a video where I will feature business opportunities in that country, so watch out for it in the coming few weeks.

Future Plans
The good news is that some of the members who participated in the latest tour will be quietly going back for follow ups in the next 2 weeks. The group wishes them well in their endeavours- for us its mission accomplished!

Beira Trip
So after the Tete Trip, we have another one-this time we head to Beira and its coming on the 28th to the 29th of December. We will look at opportunities that exist in the port city of Beira and Chimoio. It is our first business tour of the city; we do not expect to cover much since it will be holiday time. The trip will however help us in planning the next tours.

So are you interested in exploring new areas and new opportunities? If you answer is Yes then plan for the trip –Harare to Beira is 551 km. Plan to spend between $40-$60 on accommodation per night. You do not have to pay anyone any fee, you just bring your car and join others heading to the ocean.

Muito Obrigado

Good morning ZBIN Investors, so as promised-every Saturday is Diaspora Investment Day and we will cover at least one business idea targeting the Diaspora Community. This morning we  tackle a simple business idea-Vending Machines!

There are few operational vending machines in Zimbabwe and I really do not know why. There is great potential in pushing volumes for products such as soft drinks, ice creams, potato crisps, maputi or mahewu. The list of products that can be sold is endless but we do not know why we are ignoring this business idea.

Imagine 15 vending machines at Fourth Street Bus Terminus, 10 at Copacabana, 5 at Avondale Shopping Centre, 5 at Longchen, 5 at Machipisa Shopping Centre, 4 at Sam Levy, 3 at Hunyani – Lake Chivero, 10 at the National Sports Stadium.

How many sales can you push through this business venture? Now if this succeeds in Harare then you can cascade the business venture to other cities. Location challenges? Don’t worry about location, you can also mobile vending machines as shown below.

So where can you buy these machines? Do watch out for our part 2 or join our newsletter where I will provide members with detailed opportunities about this venture, the costs involved and where to purchase them.

ZBIN will be profiling members every week. We are inviting you to submit videos of your projects for hosting on the website. We will review and post your videos for free. Video footage will enable you to reach out to a large pool of potential customers and partners.

To kick-start the video promotion, we have chosen this profile of a young lady called Kundai Musarurwa. Great stuff from her and we hope that she can inspire a lot of young people so that they can venture into farming.

Until recently, financing a business involved asking a few people for big sums of money. Crowdfunding is turning this idea on its head, using the internet to help entrepreneurs talk to thousands – if not millions – of potential funders that each contribute a small amount.

The idea is the latest in funding innovations. It means small business owners that are being turned down by High Street banks now have an opportunity to appeal directly to small investors. Equally, whereas investing in small businesses was previously the domain of the very rich, this new concept means anyone can reap the benefits of investing in fledgling start-ups – whether you want to risk £20,000 or £5.

The sector is not without its challenges. While partial industry regulation has now been established, discussions are ongoing between crowdfunding pioneers and regulators in an attempt to find a balance between protecting investors – many small businesses flop early on – while allowing for the creativity and freedom needed to make ventures a success.

Party time: Community crowdfunding platform Spacehive enables community projects to get up and running

Companies requiring huge amounts of start-up capital may continue to be funded in more traditional ways – venture capitalists, for example, are likely to carry on plugging the funding gap.

However, in the immediate term, crowdfunding is poised to alter the entrepreneurial ecosystem significantly – just like angel investing, venture capital, and private equity before it.

How does crowdfunding work in practice?

Crowdfunding is a fairly new sector that is still developing. While it is an exciting prospect for many – and gives small businesses access to funding opportunities like never before – it can be a confusing arena for most people because it is presented in such a wide spectrum of ways.

Investments or donations are usually made through online platforms, which then coordinate and administer the fundraising.

Projects will range from those helping to finance community-based projects for no financial return (but a fuzzy, warm feeling inside), to sophisticated portfolio-picking, purely for monetary gain.

You could also opt for something in the middle. Abundance Generation, for example, offer investors the chance to invest in green energy and even allow you to visit your windfarm, but is FCA regulated, has shares on the stock market and offers pension investment options.

According to the UK Crowdfunding Association (CFA), there are officially three different forms of crowdfunding: donation, debt and equity, which it lays out here:

Donation crowdfunding

People invest simply because they believe in the cause. Rewards can be offered such as acknowledgements on an album cover, tickets to an event, regular news updates, free gifts and so on.

Returns are considered intangible. Donors have a social or personal motivation for putting their money in and expect nothing back, except perhaps to feel good about helping the project.

UK Sites include: www.banktothefuture.com, www.buzzbnk.org, www.crowdbnk.com, www.peoplefund.it and www.gambitious.com.

Debt crowdfunding

Investors receive their money back with interest. Also called peer-to-peer lending or lend-to-save, it allows for the lending of money while bypassing traditional banks. Returns are financial, but investors also have the benefit of having contributed to the success of an idea they believe in.

Where crowdsourced money is lent to the very poor, most often in developing countries, no interest is paid on the loan and the lender is rewarded by doing social good. This is sometimes referred to as ‘microfinance’.

Sites include: www.abundancegeneration.com, www.banktothefuture.com, www.buzzbnk.org and www.trillionfund.com.

Equity crowdfunding

People invest in an opportunity in exchange for equity. Money is exchanged for a share in the business, project or venture. As with other types of shares if it is successful the value goes up. If not, the value goes down and you could lose your money completely.

Sites include: www.banktothefuture.com, www.crowdbnk.com, www.crowdcube.com, www.gambitious.com, www.microgenius.org.uk, www.crowdmission.com and www.seedrs.com.

Interested in finding out more? Watch this video guide by crowdsourcing company Trillion Fund:

Credit: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk

ZBIN Comment: We are going to be researching more on this topic and finding out how Crowd funding can help our members. 

Do you have 50 Chickens available? A ZBIN member based in Harare is urgently looking for chickens. If you have them then put your contact details in the comments section below.

Thanks

Every week ZBIN will try and help talented writers with resources on how you can earn an extra dollar. We start with 5 ideas below and more will be coming next week.

A List Apart : ALA publishes original, feature-length articles (1,500-2,000 words) about web design. Submit a pitch, partial draft or a rough draft of your article, along with an outline for consideration. Pays $200.00 per article, typically within a month of publication. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alistapart Twitter: https://twitter.com/alistapart

2.   Today I Found Out: If you enjoy conducting research and finding interesting facts and details, while making sure that you get the facts absolutely correct in the process, you may enjoy writing for Today I Found Out. This site specializes in facts and trivia. Send a pitch or an article for consideration. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TodayIFoundOut Twitter: https://twitter.com/TodayIFoundOut1

3. Cracked :Cracked is looking for writers for list-style articles; if interested, sign up for the writers’ forum. The site is also looking for writers for infographics and charts, and will buy content in text form based on your funny idea. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cracked/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/cracked

4. College Humor: College Humor is one of the biggest comedy sites on the Internet. Submit a pitch by e-mail and the editors will work with you on your article. Pay is $35.00 for a single page and $50.00 for a multi-page article. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CollegeHumor Twitter: https://twitter.com/CollegeHumor

5.   The Diplomat :The Diplomat covers reporting and analysis related to Asia-Pacific Region. Submit pitches, blogs or feature articles for consideration, and indicate whether you expect payment at that time. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diplomatmagazine Twitter: https://twitter.com/Diplomat_APAC

By Alyssa Gregory

So I have been looking at a number of dubious money making schemes that have been brought to our shores over the last 20 years. The first one should be the Jatropha Project where various communities across the country were given free Jatropha Plants with the promise of the wonder tree bringing huge financial benefits to them. Communities were promised heaven on earth with the project expected to produce Jatropha soaps, fuels and a host of other by products which could be sold for a profit.

More than 10 years later no one is talking about this project that once took Zim by storm. Where we taken for a ride? Iam not able to authoritatively answer this one as more research is needed on the subject.

Anyway the purpose of this article is not to review the Jatropha Project; the purpose here is to review some of the dubious business schemes that have landed on our soil from foreign land. The Jatropha is the first one, the second and biggest of them all is the Sack Potato Production that took place in 2013.

So what transpired in the project? Gentle reader, a certain sister returned home from UK and started planting potatoes at the back of her home. She brought new ways of potato production-growing them in sacks as commonly done in UK. Her project ‘became a success’ – a huge success such that it went viral. Everyone started talking about the success of this project, she became a celebrity overnight. Newspapers gave her interviews, radios and television stations followed suit.

The biggest money making project in the country became Sack Potato Farming! Most farmers started inquiring about this project and a number of them purchased sacks and began producing potatoes in this unconventional way. A number of agricultural consultancies cropped up to support sack potato production, some Agriculture Scientists even endorsed the new project as the best way to farm potatoes.

So far I have been talking about others how about my own experience? Dear reader, I too encouraged some of my relatives to take advantage of this unorthodox way of farming potatoes. I had seen on tv a successful project, I had read in the press about a tried and tested method of growing potatoes.

So what happened to this thriving project?  Many people who had invested in the sack potatoes did not reap any meaningful rewards. A lot of farmers reported losses, heavy losses from this project and it did not take long for most farmers to realise that they had been taken for a ride. This was a dubious scheme-we are all taken for a ride!

The potato seeds did not grow as advertised, poor yields were encountered…takabatwa kumeso masikati machena! Ngei pakashaikwa kana mumwe  zvake akavhunza kuti ivhu nemawandiro arakaita aya munyika, imwi hino mugosiya mondoisa mavhu musaki lol

After the collapse of the sack potato project another one with a similar ending landed on Zim soil and it’s the famous Quail, Chihuta Craze! Lets tackle this one next week and establish what happened.