There are a lot of great entrepreneurship books from Rich Dad Poor Dad, Richest Man in Babylon and Capitalist Nigger just to mention a few. Well researched books that bring new schools of thoughts and perspectives. The missing link however is on local entrepreneurship books. There are few brand names that tackles this important area giving a Zimbabwean perspective.
Our forum has plugged this gap specifically focusing on opportunities available in Zimbabwe and South Africa. We have no interest in tackling what has already been covered by other books…we will be wasting our times and yours too. Instead, we focus on bringing new information not covered elsewhere and our next book is a carry on of what we did in our initial book and that is covering local and regional opportunities and crucially the interviews by Zimbabweans who are based in foreign countries. They are your contacts and point of reference should you consider to do business in foreign soil.
Today we cover one of our forum administrators, Ms Lydiah Chirewa Nyagura who is based in Russia and working as an English Teacher. We cover part of the interview we have included in our 2019 book edition.
How long have you been in Russia?
I have been in Russia twice, first between 2009-2013 and currently from 2017.
What are you doing in Russia?
Iam an English Teacher.
Are there many Zimbabweans there?
There are very few especially those formally employed. A few do exist and are students at local universities especially in science subjects and medicine.
How is the weather and food?
Winters are long and can be extremely cold, with temperatures as low as -40°C, though the average winter temperature is about -20°C. Summer time lasts for about two and half months. Traditional Russian dishes are dishes from veggies and wheat: porridges, dough dishes (bread) and all kinds of soups.
Language Barriers?
Language is a barrier here as most places use Russian as official language but the good news is that they are slowly opening up and this is one of the reasons why iam here-English Teaching!
Your thoughts on studying Russian College Programs?
I do not have sufficient knowledge on this but the language is difficult to study and i would advise prospective students to do thorough studies first.
The cost of living? Choose any 5 products and give us a breakdown.
Milk 2.5 litres=US$0.84
Cooking Oil, 750 ml =US$1.00
2kg Rice =US$0.92
Jack Daniels Whisky =US$20.00
What do you like most about Russia?
I would say the cost of living is very affordable, I live and work in a friendly environment. However it is not easy though to be too far away from home so whenever i get a vacation, i usually head straight home.
The interview continues in our book with a look at business opportunities in Russian which our members can tap into.
