The traffic between Harare and Blantyre is increasing everyday, 5 years ago there was only bus plying the Harare-Blantyre route but the number of buses has increased to 3. The buses are Kynergy, TripTrans and ZUPCO. They leave Harare at 6:00am daily and arrive in Blantyre between 6:00pm and 7:00pm.

Cost of Transport: Buses cost US$25 or $30 Bond, all in hard cash form. If you choose to fly, there are daily flights for the route. Air Malawi flies everyday from Harare to Blantyre but with a 45 minute stopover in Lusaka.

Important Advice-Yellow Fever Card: Make sure that you carry a yellow fever vaccination card or face problems with Mozambique and Malawi Immigration officials.

Business Opportunities: Small scale

1.Buses travelling to Malawi from Harare are usually full with clothing material

2. Buses travelling from Malawi to Zimbabwe have Kilombero Rice and goods imported from a Chinese warehouse in Limbe

Business Opportunities: Large Scale

A lot of Zimbabwean consultants are doing business in Malawi in areas such as Agriculture, Engineering and Construction.

A number of great opportunities also exist for entrepreneurs and we will cover more of this in our book on Investment Opportunities coming out next week. Equally important are contact details of reliable people you can do business with in Blantyre. Our book is a collection of entrepreneurship stories and features some of our best read articles as well as previously unpublished material.

How does Harare fare  against Luanda when it comes to prices? The price of a 2 litre cooking oil bottle in Harare is twice than in Luanda! The trend is the same when it comes to chicken. Economists may need to do a comparison of prices between Harare and one of the places known to be the most expensive in the world..Luanda! Our city may possibly have the highest prices in Africa!

We bring you part of an interview we carried out with one of our members based in Angola, Olivia Maguu Luamba. She lives in Angola and participated in the President’s address to the Zimbabwean community living in Angola last month.

How are living conditions in Angola?

Angola has a sub-tropical climate almost everywhere, with a cool and dry season from May to August, and a hot and rainy season, which runs from mid-September to April in the north-east, from mid-October to April in the centre, from November to March in the south, and from February to April in Luanda, while it’s almost non-existent on the southern coastline.The official language is Portuguese and is spoken throughout the country. There are some local languages, but these are mainly spoken outside of Luanda.The Angolan cuisine is a combination of Portuguese cuisine and west African cuisine. The traditional staple food is funge, which is basically sadza made from cassava flour. The cities close to the coastline eat a lot of fish.

How long have you been in Angola?

Almost ten years

Approximate Official Number of Zimbos living in Angola

About 500

What are the top business opportunities in Angola?

Agriculture, Mining and Tourism

Are there Zimbabweans doing business in Angola?

Yes (More information covered in our Investment Opportunities Book to be released next week)

Give us a break down of Rentals, Fuel Price, Cooking Oil and Chicken

We have a huge discrepancy between the official bank rate and the black rate e.g as I am answering these questions, the official rate is 1US$:202 AKZ while the black market rate is 1US$:400 AKZ . I will give the costs using the official and unofficial rate

Cooking oil $2.30 : $1.13

Petrol price $0.79 : $0.40

Chicken full $4.45: $2.25 

Rent 3 bedroomed flat (kilamba) $396:  $200

Rent 1 bedroomed flat (city) $1,250 : $625

Cost of air tickets from Harare to Luanda

Return flight TAAG – US$690

Tell us about top holiday destinations

Benguela has great beaches, Cabinda also has the Mayombe Rain Florest,

Can Zimbos find jobs in Angola?

Yes it is possible, although now it’s a bit harder than before.  Its very easy for people in specialized fields e.g Agriculturalists as the agriculture sector is fast expanding.

How did you learn Portuguese?

I enrolled for formal classes and later learnt from the community

Advice to first time visitors to Angola

You need to have a lot of patience. Don’t come here with expectations that things work the same way as in Zim or South Africa. Angola is unique and has a unique way of doing things.

Do not miss our book on Investment opportunities for Zimbabweans in 2018. Possibly the best resource book on investment opportunities for Zimbabweans. The book is named Opportunities for Zimbabweans because it has a regional outlook and covers not only Zimbabwe but opportunities in neighboring countries and the world at large. It features;

Provides an analysis of Economic Recovery Opportunities focusing on Agriculture, Service Industry, Mining, Transport and Real Estate Sectors. It covers real life experiences of entrepreneurs, includes coverage of diasporans in Namibia, DRC, India, Canada and Angola. The last chapter covers resources on where to source funding, risks associated with investment and how to mitigate them.