Happy New Year to all the wonderful forum members. We hope that you had a wonderful time during the holidays and that you are ready for 2017.
The good news is that we will continue to share business ideas and network in 2017! We hope to build on the successes of 2016 and scale greater heights in 2017.
Kaizen Theory
The Japanese have a wonderful theory and its called the Kaizen Theory and in simple terms this theory is about continuous improvement. In business you need to continuously review operations and processes and find ways to improve. You cannot afford to rest on your laurels….you have to find ways to improve in terms of support services, ways to improve in terms of production-ways to improve in terms of thinking and approaches as well. So this is going to be our motto in 2017–Are we improving? Are you improving? Do not come up with excuses of ‘no funds’ because some of the improvement require nothing but imagination, creative thinking. So Kaizen its gonna be in 2017 and we hope to innovate together.
Forum Registration
Everything at an advanced stage, we have engaged lawyers who will be helping with the setting up of a trust for the forum. Our target date being first week of February 2017.
Member Registration
After the formal registration of the forum, the next big step is going to be the formal registration of all members on the forum. We would like you to freely register so that you can formally help in the strategic leadership of your favourite forum. No fees expected to be paid for this exercise-more details to come in February 2017.
Advantages of Registration
So why all the fuss about registration? Are there any advantages for doing this? Yebo Yes there are several advantages that will come from being formally registered. The biggest one is going to be access to credit for members. We are hoping to attract funding for member businesses, we do not believe in free grants but are hoping to attract funding that act as collateral for members with no collateral. Formal registration will also enable members to pool resources in any venture of their interest. Other advantages to include collective marketing and market linkages especially in the area of Poultry.
Diaspora Engagement
ZBIN continues to be the number 1 forum in Zimbabwe that actively promotes the engagement of the Diaspora in business.Wek believe that they are a key stakeholder in Zimbabwe where they remit close to a billion dollars on an annual basis. The Diaspora can actually remit more if a conducive environment is put in place for their investment. On ZBIN we already have a member based in Australia who is running a successful rabbit project in Chivhu. We also have Mai Shumba based in UK who has a successful poultry project in Greendale….she networks from UK to look for customers in Zimbabwe and is more knowledgeable about poultry markets in Zimbabwe than some Harare residents-talk about the power of globalisation! We have more Diasporans on our forums looking for business partners, some like Mrs Shumba already directing business activities from foreign land. So we are hoping to promote and advocate for a ‘Diaspora Space’ in the local economy in 217.
Are you a Consultant?
ZBIN will be offering a number of professional services in 2017. The services will range from support services such as Accounting, Auditing, Marketing, Human Resources, Business Management and IT Management some of the services will be done at a fee. We are therefore hoping that business experts on the forum will benefit. If you are an Accountant then you can be hired for part of full time work on capacity building of SMEs, you can be paid for the development of accounting manuals or training of accounting staff. The same applies to Human Resources, Strategy Development, Marketing and IT. So get in touch if you would like to be added to our database of SME Consultants.
Improved Website & Newsletter
Our website www.zbinworld.com is under renovation, we are hoping to get a user friendly website that has various sections such as Agriculture, Online Forex Trading, Baking, Transport and Real Estate. We hope to have a resource centre where you can download up to date resources in Ms Word, Excel and Pdf format.
We are hoping to improve in terms of the quality of information shared. If we are talking about poultry then we must provide you with the cost of raising a bird, profit to be made and other resources. This should help you in terms of decision making.
Interns-Interns-Interns-Interns Wanted!
So we are creating ZBIN in a manner that allows sustainability of operations. Munemo’s absence should not stop operations. Who knows maybe I may join the great trek in the coming few months? So through the board, life should go on. The group should succeed in my absence should I decide to be a Diasporan like what millions of other Zimbos have done. The vision does not die though-we remain focused on unlocking business opportunities through networking and innovation. We do our work ethically and free of charge to Zimbabweans.
ZBIN is therefore inviting youngsters, recent college graduates with no experience to come and help manage the group and gain business experience in the process. Come and become experts on business writing, business researches, website development and a lot of other business activities.
Vote of Thanks
Lastly our vote of thanks go to the active forum participants. The people who keep the forum going-folks who freely give advice to others. May the Almighty bless you for the wonderful work that you do on the forum for the benefit of members and Zimbabwe as a whole.
Remember our key word: KAIZEN…KAIZEN…KAIZEN…Continuous Improvement…lets continue to improve in every area in 2017.
