Our forum is well known for innovations and this year we brought you the submarine locator innovation after the unfortunate disappearance of the Titan Submarine. The ‘invention’ attracted a lot of interest across the globe and it’s our hope it will contribute to the field of science and researches. https://zbinworld.com/zimbabwean-invention-submarine-chute/

Our biggest innovation to date however has to be Tapestry (Rugmaking) which saw us going viral across SADC in 2017 and getting an honour from the Zulu King in KwaZulu Natal. On agriculture we helped to introduce and promote hybrid Paw Paws or Papaya.

In 2022 we championed cruise ship jobs access by Zimbabweans with more than 5000 benefiting.And this includes a chartered plane ferrying successful candidates from Harare to Hawaii free of charge. So what is in store in 2024? We have started a new initiative of Madagascan Lima Beans.

The author bumped into what seemed like wild beans in his back yard and weeded out a lot of them but 2 survived and managed to grow at an exponential pace with the first plant producing more than 4000 bean seeds. I had serious reservations whether the beans were edible given the fast and furious growth rate and took to social media to inquire about the weird beans.

Zbinite Pepukai Chato carried out a research and finally got to the bottom of it—Its’ Madagascan Lima Beans!

And this is what he has to say;

That is actually a be-speckled lima bean from Madagascar. It grows for 7years.One plant can feed a whole family. I researched it because to me it was out of this world.

I later on had the beans cooked and really regretted why I had not paid serious attention to the tasty beans. Very fast to cook and therefore takes less energy. Zimbabwe needs more of Madagascan beans for food security as we face drought. The biggest advantage is that it does not need constant watering and can technically grow in the wild.

Official Definition: A vigorous climbing bean that has attractive white and purple speckled seeds if left to dry out on the vine, otherwise they can be eaten raw while still white.

On Australian websites such as www.boondieseeds.com.au/and https://www.localseeds.com.au/they are sold for US$1 for an average of 6-8 bean seeds.

According to forum discussions, a few people have the beans although grown mostly as a backyard plant. It has little maintenance costs as it grows like a wild plant with added benefits of continuous growth and harvesting up to 3-7 years.

So 30 Subscribed Zbinites will take part in trials this coming season with a target of producing 50,000 seeds by April 2024. Full commercial scale farming expected to commence in the second half of 2024.

So expect a lot of noise around Madagascan Lima Beans in Harare towards end of next year going into the 2025 Agricultural Season.

The major objectives of the Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network forum are 1) Access to Opportunities Information, 2) Access to Markets, 3) Access to Capital and 4) Promotion of Networking. We have done exceedingly well on the rest of the objectives except Access to Capital.

Access To Capital is a universal problem for start-ups but we have introduced innovations such as Crowdfunding which has had limited impact but remains a viable option. But our best innovation has to be championing the access to capital through working on cruise ships.

Before the Covid-19 period—Access to Cruise ships was restricted to a tiny few but floodgates opened in late 2021 when the cruise ships industry started revving the engines once more with cruise liners back on the high seas.

The cruise ships had been the hotbed of Covid-19 infections with some employees unfortunately passing on and others moving on to other jobs. Recruitment policies were therefore relaxed allowing mass recruitment across the globe. This presented Zimbabweans with a rare opportunity to apply and get recruited.

Our forum was fortunate to have a member (Sherz) who had 9 years working experience on cruise ships. We sat down and brainstormed on how to get forum members on cruise ships by streamlining the process from developing legit links, design of relevant resumes and interview coaching.

And the result? More than 1000 have directly benefited from the advice shared and our estimate is a total of 5000 Zimbabweans managed to land cruise ships jobs. Most of them recruited for lower level positions such as Housekeeping, Galley Attendants, Youth Camp Staff, Assistant Photographers, Waitresses, Bar Attendants and others. Some got high level positions such as engineers, casino dealers, HR Managers, Pursers, ICT Managers, Entertainment Managers and others.

Recruitment was done online with some through job fairs conducted in Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. Top destinations being Carnival Cruise, Princess Cruise, Msc Cruis, Royal Carribean and others. Salary ranges from $800 per month to +$5000in addition to benefits such as tips for selected professions and cruiseliners.

The estimated benefit to Zimbabwe being 5000 estimated employees x an average salary of $16,000 per annum or $80m per year minus living expenses. The biggest advantage of working on cruise liners is that most of the basic needs are provided such as food and accommodation—and no transport costs. Therefore one can save more than 90% of salaries earned and bring it home.

These Zbinites got a once in a life time opportunity to fly for free on a chartered plane from RGM Airport to Hawaii for visas en route to Carnival Cruise ships in July 2022.

Those migrating to other nations such as care workers to UK cannot afford to save above 30% of their income as most of their incomes eaten by living expenses.

Dear Reader, This is how we managed to partially solve access to capital for our members. Of course these workers have other pressing needs to sort back home, but the belief is after supporting relatives and building own homes—businesses will be the top priority!

Of course it’s not all smooth sailing on cruiseships as one has to adjust mentally, emotionally and physically to an environment of hard work through long hours.

The Future of Cruiseship Jobs: In 2021 and 2022, cruise ships were desperate for employees with potential candidates wary of human trafficking or recruitment scams. However when the word quickly spread that indeed the jobs were bonafide—most of the low level jobs were filled. Jobs still exist but one has to be fast in applications, and also know the correct procedures of applications.

For first timers—Be wary of scams, and no funds required upfront by agencies. You do the whole process by yourself—from applications, interviews, medical clearances and visa applications.