The end of employment for some was abrupt. No more grants coming—contracts to be terminated in 3-6 months and you have to go home.
Easy to adjust? Not really as some had to be hospitalized due to Blood Pressure complications after being thrown into the fire. Some had become accustomed to regular salaries for years. Taking loans, sending children to private schools—some to foreign universities.
Then all of a sudden from a salary of $5,000 to none. From $1000 to none, and its final.
To make matters worse—most of the skilled manpower, unable to be shift to the private sector or public sector. So a few left the country to start new lives—but the majority remained—jobless and forced into entrepreneurship.
Some had exit packages but they were not enough with most consumed by paying off loans and trying to adjust to the new life and trying out entrepreneurship.
So what sort of advice can we give to them?
- Study the entrepreneurship mix: In Zimbabwe relying on one venture is suicidal. Study how one balances short term investments, medium term and long term investments. And this is a new skill and for reference do read our 2022 Business Opportunities for Zimbabweans Book. You could need a consultant for assistance. Miss this topic and you will refer to it with regret.
- Study the Learning or Experience Curve: The gap between NGO work vs Entrepreneurship is huge. You are learning from the bottom. You are learning from the bottom how to generate a dollar and it may not be easy. Yes a dollar is hard to generate as there is stiff competition and you need time.
- Avoid the urgency to maintain previous lifestyle. The urgency will lead to ponzi schemes like sponsoring gomba in gold mining, or anything promising fast returns.
- Lifestyle adjustment: Very painful but consider areas out of big cities. Big cities like Harare are very expensive for unemployed people. Instead consider relocation to small towns—but maintain Harare contacts for markets access. Bindura, Marondera, Mvurwi, Chegutu, Mrew and Chivu could give you a better life for restarting and slowly rise. Low cost of living and even doing business and then transport products to Harare.
- Farming highly recommended: First farming helps you with food security—next it helps you find out what suits you. Avoid expecting high returns from the first season. It rarely works that way—and if you succeed from the first harvest—count yourself lucky—but its not guaranteed that follow on seasons will be the same.
- Costs of Learning: Avoid delegating work to others till you learn hands on how the business runs. You were a Country Director for a big NGO but if you are to go into farming—Be ready to stay on the farm and get your hands dirty.
Join entrepreneurship forums—do a lot of reading and researches. From our books you also get to learn of experiences from others—the good and the bad. ZBIN provides you with key contacts—and a platform to develop and avoid some of the common mistakes.
Of course there is more to share—but we encourage you to avoid partnerships. You are still new to business, and partnerships rarely work for newbies.
Wishing you the best—as with time you will find a working formula.
