The Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network Offices are located in Monavale which is near Mabelreign Shopping Centre. For most of our small scale procurements, we go to this centre instead of Avondale Shopping Centre. The close proximity provides us with an opportunity to analyse changes and business opportunities at this busy business centre.
An analysis of this centre shows that most businesses are there such as Retail Shops, Hardwares, a Post Office, Service Station, Boutiques, Pubs, and Service Stations. There is a lot of duplication of business especially in the area of sports bars.
New businesses to open include a renovated Econet Shop, Profeeds shop and a Bata Shoe shop. All the three opened shops do show brisk business if we are to believe the number of customers who are always in these shops. The Profeeds shop is an interesting one and shows that they had done enough market survey-they know that most people are involved in income generating activities such as poultry, pig and rabbit rearing. Some do the projects in Mabelreign and surrounding surbubs but the majority should be people with farms in areas such as Nyabira. We do not expect Profeeds to close shop any time soon-infact we expect an expansion to bigger premises in the nearby future. The Econet shop is not surprising, this is a growing business sector in Africa. Most people want to communicate and all shops that sell phones are enjoying brisk business in the country.
What is missing?
It is interesting to note that no one has set up a bookshop at this centre! We are not sure whether this is an oversight on the part of business people or not. Our last survey of areas where Zimbabweans are spending money on showed that Education was number one. We are all spending money sending our children to school, clothing them and buying school related materials such as books. There are at least 4 schools near this busy centre and they are Mabelreign Girls High, Elis Robins, Alfred Beit and Reekworth Primary School. There are a lot of other scattered private colleges and crèches in this surbub. All of these schools need stationery, they need books and there is no one to cater for them. The small OK and SPAR shops can argue that they also sell stationery but this is not enough.
So to anyone interested in setting up a shop at this centre, do not ‘sweat the technique’ by copying what others are already doing. We encourage you to try other areas such as a Bookshop. Microfinance institutions also have a good chance of making it at this centre as there is none.
