Diaspora Matters

From Inbox:

A diasporan sister has a question:
Zvirisei sei ndakabata 5000 cash ndinga deposite stand kupi mu Harare kune ma good terms.

Response from members

Noki Daniels KANA akuda ku Domboshava tell me

Faye Denise Nesee Haydon Park @$18 a square metre. Terms available up to 18 months (Haydon Park is near the new parliament so Harare west.

Anita Sibanda Madokero

Florence Matombo 400 squremeters 4500us in kwekwe

Noleen Kaseke kuchitungwiza infill $4500 pane cottage 2 rooms netoilet

Tapiwa Rasara Beware of fraudsters

Tapiwa Rasara If you manage to get one from reputable property developers like Damofalls Zimre holdings etc….avoid individuals as much as possible

Tendai Bond Cash-Baroness WeMhazi Rydale Ridge Park

Tafadzwa Mapurisa Where is this area?

Mdala Wa Rue Rydale…on yr wake to Lake Chivero…after Snake Park…Good area

Chichi Madanhi Madokero or Sandton after Westgate.

Rueben Moyo Saturday Retreat through CFI @ $4 per square metre

Mai Anashe Tagwirei Tenga ruzevha kwedu kuDema.

Florence Matombo Ku redclif dzriko and mbizo 21 ne 22 ku 9 kune dzimba

Watson Midzi Try PHD also they have stands also

Ps* This post first appeared on Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network on August 12, 2016. Our Recommendation on buying residential stands still remain…avoid buying from individuals to reduce risk. Please refer to an article on why you should avoid buying residential stands from individuals.

Networking at Events

There are various aspects of this type of business networking, from preparation to follow up and everything in between:
Identify where you should go. All venues are not right for all people. You owe it to yourself to do your research and find the venues that make sense for your business.

Make a decision about which organizations. Decide the ones you should join and the ones you don’t have to join in order to gain value from the events. For example, does it make sense to join a local chamber of commerce, or just go to the events that sound interesting and will most likely include people you should meet?
Register for the event and schedule it like a business meeting. Many people either don’t sign up for events or sign up for them and then forget to go.

Determine how often you should be networking. How many times should you network in a given week, month or quarter? This will help you narrow down where you should be going.
Develop open-ended questions. You can use these to ignite a conversation. Try to find unique questions. Don’t ask the same old “so what do you do” question if you can help it.
Attend events with a plan. Always try to learn something new. This will keep you from talking too much about yourself and your business.
Prepare yourself physically and mentally for the event. Dress appropriately. Bring business cards. Turn your phone off or set it to vibrate. (I’m not kidding!)
Don’t forget to mingle. Are you going with someone? If so, split up once you get to the event.

Get the lay of the land. When you arrive, step to the side. Take a deep breath and scan the room. This will give you a chance to regroup and focus before you approach anyone.
Don’t sit down right away. Wait until the program begins. If there is no program, you can sit once you’ve connected with someone.
Try to sit with strangers. This is no time to stick with people you know.

Be a good Samaritan. Is there someone sitting alone? Go to them and introduce yourself. You’ll be saving their life! They are alone and nervous. You can even take them with you to mix and mingle with others.
Don’t give your business card to everyone you meet. Rather, give it to anyone who asks you for it.

Do get the business card of everyone you meet.
Have a firm (but not killer) handshake. Your handshake is a key indicator of your level of confidence. So think about what your handshake is saying to those you meet.

Be present — always. When you are talking with someone, look them in the eye and really pay attention to what they are saying. You may learn something about them that tells you whether you can help them. It’s also the only way you’ll determine whether you should continue to get to know them after the event is over.
Don’t look around the room. And don’t look over someone’s shoulder when you are talking with them. It’s rude. You are letting them know that you aren’t really interested in them.
Don’t take phone calls. If you are expecting a call or have a situation that may need your attention, let the person you are talking with know there is the possibility you’ll have to excuse yourself.

Take necessary calls in private. Leave the room and go to a quiet place. It doesn’t make you seem important if you take a call in the room. It makes you seem impolite, silly, rude, arrogant … take your pick!

Disengage politely. How do you get away from someone politely? There are a couple of tactics. You can tell them you don’t want to monopolize their time. You can tell them you see someone you need to speak with. You can excuse yourself to go to the restroom. You can tell them you’d like to continue meeting people.
Don’t follow up via email. The only exception would be if you have been expressly asked to do so.

Do at least send a note.
Don’t pitch too early. Quite frankly, don’t “pitch” at all. When you build relationships it will become apparent to you and the other person when it makes sense to do business with each other. Remember, business networking is about relationships – not selling.
Don’t sign people up for your newsletter. Be sure you get their expressed permission before you put them on any kind of list.
Don’t assume. Just because you met someone doesn’t give you license to gain a referral from them, use them as a resource, or give them your promotional and sales materials.
Do err. But make it on the side of good manners and the golden rule.

Referral Groups

Referral groups work best for growing your business when you approach them with the idea of what you can provide to the group and its members. Here are some commandments to consider:
Focus on giving. Networkers don’t get referrals until people trust them. And they aren’t trusted until they’ve been giving quality referrals for a while.

Show up regularly and on time. When you show up late and/or infrequently, you send a message to your fellow group members: you tell them that you only care about yourself because you don’t take the time to learn about their needs. You show them how you deal with business meetings and associates. Why would they trust you with their clients? How can they be sure you’ll treat them well?
Come prepared. Have a specific list of referral needs. The more specific you can be, the more referrals you’ll receive.

Always ask for what you need. You are never so busy that you don’t need more prospects in our pipeline. If you don’t ask all the time, you’ll run the risk of getting to a place where you never ask. If you think it may be a couple of weeks before you’ll be able to get to those referrals, just let the members know that. It’s okay to ask when you are forthcoming with information.

Focus on the group. Once again, be sure you are really listening to the needs of the group members. Don’t play with your phone or answer emails while others are talking. Really listen and think about how you can help them.
Meet with the members individually. Do this between meetings so you can get to know them better.
Do not prospect among group members. You’re not targeting your fellow group members when you have your one-on-one meetings with them. You’re simply trying to build connections.
Do not expect to get until you give.
Do not expect to receive right away. It takes time to build those relationships with group members so you trust them and they trust you.
Consider the other group members as resources to you and your contacts. When you know how they do business and you trust them, you can use them as resources when people mention needs those group members can solve. This can elevate you in the eyes of your contacts, prospects and clients.
Do give quality referrals and leads. I knew a man who would write up a referral and put “Do not use my name” on the sheet. That is not helpful. I’ve also seen a situation where someone gave a referral but called the referee later and said, “Don’t call that person.” That’s not helpful! Don’t give garbage. It’s better to not give at all.

Check with your clients, contacts and associates first. Are they open to you giving their names and contact information to your group members? One of the worst things that can happen is for you to refer a group member to a client, only to have the client get mad.
Follow up! If someone gives you a referral, treat it like gold. You want to be sure that you follow up on it right away. Imagine how you’ll make the other person feel if they refer you to someone and you don’t follow up in a timely manner. It won’t make them want to refer you again. It takes time to build relationships with the people in your referral group. Don’t destroy that trust by failing to take a referral seriously

By Kate Marsden

Asking questions is a very powerful tool for a business owner and leader to help drive the business.

1. Why? My favourite question is “Why?” It gets right to the heart of things – even those things that you take for granted. Kids ask it all the time – much to the irritation of their frazzled parents, who suddenly question the basics in life again! Sadly though, it’s a question you don’t hear enough in many businesses and it is often drummed out of new people without anyone realising the positive impact it can have on a business.
2. What would make us better? Push for excellence on everything and force people to come up with new ways to make things better. Make it your mission for a week to look at everything in terms of how it could be improved, rather than what the problems are.
3. How does the customer feel? Take time really see things from a customer perspective. If you can, become your own mystery shopper. Or just watch and listen to how staff deal with customers and ask how you would feel in their shoes.
4. How are we different? Being like everyone else is just not enough. If you can’t explain – and back up – why you are better or different to your competitors, you are missing a massive opportunity
5. Where does our profit come from? You may think you know this, but you may be surprised. Do you know which customers make the most money? Or which products? Do you know which 20% of effort drives 80% of your financial results?
6. Where does all the money go? Again you may think you know this, but look again. Where does all the money you take in sales go before some of it drops to the bottom line? Is it all worth it?
7. Who is critical to the future of the business? If the answer is only you, you have a serious problem (or you need a dose of reality!). Every business needs a critical few who are driving the future – and then you need to work out how to hold on to them at all costs.

A sister based in UK would like to open a crèche in Harare in one of the medium density suburbs.The crèche will be run by her mum and her brother. She would therefore like to find out about the current creche fees in Harare and  general information about profitability of this sector.

Responses

WeNyasha Tee look for a 3-5 bedroom house with a big outdoor space furnish it well up to outdoor play equipment.
look for qualified ECD teachers 2 or 3.
provide transport a taxi or kombi depending with number of kids and charge $5-$20 depending with radius/ distance.
fees kids around Hatfield, Waterfalls pay $60-$120 a month
grocery a month $15 per child or you charge your fees inclusive of grocery

Yemurai Nhongo-Thepe The house needs to be for commercial purposes and you need to get permission and licenses from ministry and city of Harare

Lloyd Chidamahiya Prices vary from 30 bugs in the ghetto, 120 to 200 medium density, up to over a thousand dollars in low densities ,monthly. Obviously that also depends on what u offering. Who is ur target market. Hw gd is ur marketing skills etc

Mai Anashe Tagwirei I have picked up a couple of points, am about to start a creche business. Thanks guys

Mel Sibbs like the page Kindercare-Zimbabwe Nurseries and Preschools

Sithole Rubie Be fair in terms of pricing .. it’s ludicrous and exorbitant these crèche in Harare charge 30_40$ for extra activities like swimming, gymnasium, worse when it comes to travels ..
Creche owners need to understand that yes I want my child to get the best education and experience but the prices need to be fair and rational .. considering the economic situation

Tapiwa Mubonderi Creches are becoming defunct due to formal schools offering ECD. Quite a number of creches are going out of business. It would be advisable to look at setting up a school, you can partner with council and government to develop a school. The margins will be lower but the volumes will make it lucrative. There is a requirement to establish and build 2,500 schools at present. An injection of $400,000 upwards would be sufficient.

Memory Rumbidzai Chikowore Marongwe The schools can not absorb all children for ECD A and B. So creches are still in business The only thing that creates a sustainable project is offering your best above the rest go an extra mile. For more deatails you or your mum can visit me at my Pre School my number is 0774 249 693

Hope Lunga Murombwi I’m in agreement. I have a 3 yr old still in nursery school. I have no plans for taking her to school for ECD because of the personalised care I am getting at nursery school. Some schools are not yet equipped for these little ones e.g. installing toilets their size. Thats my personal preference

*PS Post first appeared on Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network Facebook Page on September 11, 2016

On ZBIN expect investment ideas targeting the Diasporan Community. We will try our level best to ensure that you stay connected with business developments on the ground. We will cover areas that are not normally covered by the mainstream media. All of the information will be availed to you free of charge. To date we have given you investment advice on Water Parks, Open air venue in Westgate and now this morning we cover real estate in Melfort, a place near Harare which is developing at a fast rate.

ZBIN Adopts Melfort

So are you planning on purchasing residential stands in Harare? Perhaps you may not have sufficient resources to enable you to get that dream residential stand in your dream location. As ZBIN we are saying worry not.  Our advice to you is to try towns that are located near Harare. We all know about Norton so we are not going to waste time discussing about.

Our recommended area is MELFORT! Yeah situated a few kilometres from Ruwa-this is the place to be! It growing fast although we feel that its still not fully developed. The main advsntages f this area are as follows:

1. Close proximity to Harare, Ruwa to be specific
2. Good road network, the dualisation of the road between Mabvuku and Msasa ensures free flow of traffic.
3. Residential stands prices should be very low
4. Melfort is located near a busy highway: Harare -Mutare Highway
5. Residential stands are large so as to enable folks interested in market gardening.
6. If you are the enterprising type-try commercial stands
7. Kumafura mhepo and may suit folks thinking of purchasing real estate with retirement in mind

There should be no middlemen when buying residential stands in Melfort. If you want to buy stands iam sure kufonera council straight wovhunza zvakamirasei.

For now I have no solid information about getting a stand there-vangaite ruzivo vangabatsire chose. I  hope to visit the place next week and show you photos of the place-those building nice houses. Ndinotaura sendine mushonga mukanwa but watch this place…Melfort is slowly developing to be the biggest thing ‘in’ Harare. I hope to get the contact details of the council that administers this small town and share with you in the coming weeks

Wishing you the best.

You must have seen it, that tree-lined driveway leading to an enormous palace worth a fortune atop a hill in the village. The gate is shut and unguarded, the lawn overgrown, the compound deserted and eerily quiet with termites nibbling away at the mahogany door frames.

The owner, a local boy/girl who resides abroad pops in once in a while and save for that visit once every 1-3 years when the place is spruced up and lived in for a couple of weeks, the reclusive mansion is millions rusting with disuse. It’s home for bats and famished cockroaches, mosquitoes, rats, wasps and spiders. Why do diasporans and Kenyans living in the cities sink millions into village residences that they have no use for?

Apparently, some cultures dictate that sons must put up huge edifices back in the village, even when they virtually spend their entire lives abroad or in the city. It is all about cultural attachments and status.

“Why spend lots of money on a property in the village that has no resale value and no rental income? They are largely for prestige and to prove one’s status. When a father gives his sons inheritance, he expects them to put up houses, even when they don’t need them, in the village. So this trend will be hard to shake off, says Daniel Ojijo, the Executive Chairman Homes Universal Limited.

Former Information and Communication Permanent Secretary, Dr Bitange Ndemo, is one of those who regrets putting up a multi-million shilling house that he has used only twice in 15 years.

“I began to regret why I put up a house in my rural home, while I suffered in the city. The house was dead capital. I could not rent it out to anyone, yet I had to pay somebody to take care of it. This is not just my story. It is the story of Africa’s investment decisions and mixed priorities,” Dr Ndemo wrote in a local daily.

While a clique of Kenyans have lived in cities and abroad for decades without even a mud-walled hut in the village, others borrow huge loans to put up ‘palaces’ that remain idle.

Dr Aquilars Kalio, an Egerton University Economics lecturer, observes that whereas it is important to have a house in the countryside which is the final resting place for many Kenyans, having a big, unoccupied house does not make economic sense.

“It is all about yearning for respect from peers and to be conspicuous in the village; to feel good when people point at the mansion and say, ‘That is so and so’s house’,” says Dr Kalio.

Interestingly, Dr Ndemo links what he calls ‘dead capital’ running into hundreds billions to death. Indeed, many spend the better part of their lives abroad or the high-end parts of the city in Lavington, Runda and Muthaiga, as their humongous houses remain desolate for ages until they are hurriedly spruced for burial ceremonies.

“It is a home where you will be buried. It is said that you will embarrass the clan when you to die and you have no home. Africa is preoccupied with death even when the living cannot feed themselves. Of what sense is it when someone puts up a Sh20 million home in a rural area only for the relatives to raise money to pay school fees for children after his death? These are houses that no one will buy, sell or rent because graves dot the homestead. What is the value of culture?” poses Dr Ndemo.

But Dr Kalio says some of these homes are built by people who could be disposing off ill-gotten wealth. He says people who steal money get confused and become irrational. They dispose of it by erecting white elephants, a mistake, he says ‘real’ billionaires never make.

This article first appeared on sde.com

Today we will look closely at an interesting community- The Somali community in South Africa. I maybe wrong but I think the Somalis are hardworking people. In Zimbabwe I often see them walking along the Harare-Mutoko Road bound for South Africa. These guys will be having no luggage…Comrades and Friends, these guys will be having absolutely NOTHING in terms of possession.Vanenge vangori mawoko zvavo vachifamba in silence vakananga SA.

Mdala Wa Rue Mukoma Thimothy thts excellent response shuwa there is somthing wrong with us tine mafungiro ekushanda only ndopatirikurasika ipapo

Praise Chabona I have tried to participate in Saving and lending activites ari kuitwa nesome women around the country but ey! kubirana kwacho kwakaoma. I hope we will change our attitude very soon

Mdala Wa Rue Aaah shame,kubatana kushoma pakati pedu maZimbo…i hope these schemes do not become ma Ponzi Schemes…do u remember what hapened in the mid 90s?

Praise Chabona Some have already proved to be ponzy bcoz in one of the groups kwainzi each member contributes $200/month and the group had 30 members. The administrators made sure that they placed themselves on the 1st positions. Saka ndivo vakatanga kuwana mari vachibva vangoshaikwa.

Mdala Wa Rue Is it an online group?Coz pa internet ndipo pazara ma fraudsters

Miriam Rosalyn Pashapa Zimbabweans if we dnt unite we are going nowhere bt dwn the drain,unonzwa some zimbos even ku UK vaitengesana kuti munhu adzoserwe kumba honestly wat kind of a spirit is that?

Rodwell Maoneke MaZimbabweans hatina kubata,godo, kukara, humbimbindoga,ruvengo the list goes on. Ukawana chaunoziva ukadaidza hama kuti huya tibate pamwe unobirwa kana kuti munhu mangwana anomuka akutoshandisa njere dzako kutotanga zvake even without experience. Ukabatsira nemari haidzoke. From what I heard maSomalians vanobatsirana kuvhura maSpaza shop,unotanga nekushandira aka establisher then ozokubatsirawo kutangazvako.

Rodwell Maoneke Munhu iye aitaura chokwadi, hunhu hwedu hauna kunaka,get rich quick mentality ndiyo inotiuraya,patients hapana. Mukatanga musika pamwe kana worshop chaiyo pane ku expander zvamatanga umwe anomuka akavhura kake kamusika, ndipo panotangira kunyeyana

Ps* Post first appeared on the Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network Facebook page in June 2015

By Cameron Cooper

So we have not covered opportunities in the Small Scale Mining Sector of Zimbabwe but we do promise to bring you more stories from this sector next week. A lot of opportunities exist for serious investors especially in the area of equipment for hire.

Two weeks ago a forum member, Cde Solar did a tour of the rich mining Province of Mashonaland West and below is his brief write up.

Had the best time of my life doing a tour of mining activities around Chegutu, Chakari and Kadoma. I discovered that a day was not even enough for such a tour. Met a number of players who were very inspirational. It is rather unfortunate that I did not get to see any of the Cdes on this platforms’ projects. However, I discovered a few models that Iam willing to share in the next circular. Some of which are too obvious to some of us….but some maybe new to a number of members here and should be able to push them on board.

Ps* Solar will represent the group in more tours and provide us with detailed forum reports about opportunities in this sector. We would like to know areas that need investment, current status of the sector and any opportunities for would be investors.

Part of the group of 23 that will be travelling to Mozambique on December 6, 2016.