How did Mereki rise to be an open air entertainment space of choice in Harare? Well back in the last 80s, the late former chairman of Dynamos, Mr Nhekairo used to host after match parties for Dembare supporters at the Warren Park D joint. Scores of fans warmed up the place helping to popularize it in the process. With time no after matches were held but the ground work had been completed as fans continued to trek to the place thereby boosting the brand. Later on the place became open to non soccer fans and as they say, the rest is history!

Many open air venues have been opened around the capital city but Mereki remains the first and last word when it comes to open air entertainment. The same model is captured in our 2020 and 2022 books when we featured how Mr Low launched a pub in Rimuka (2020 Business Opportunities for Zimbabweans Book) and How Tinashe did set up a thriving pub in Mufakose (2022 Business Opportunities for Zimbabweans Book).

Build a community around your brand by constantly engaging and supporting them. There is need for community ownership. Silently set up a business and mind your own business, then clients likely to take longer to switch to you especially when you offer what already exists from current players.

Dear reader,

Welcome to the same Nhekairo Concept being used in the digital space. You should not walk alone in business, rather; be an active participant in the digital community. And one of our leading members is Luwy Kay Kusemwa of LC Shipping and her company set up in 2018 has risen to become the best Runner in Zimbabwe which specializes in China Imports to Zimbabwe services.

Luwy is well networked, and has a big forum made up of clients. She is part and parcel of them and this also includes ZBIN. References become easier to get when you have thousands of clients speaking positively about your brand. Every time inquiries on Buying and Shipping from China crop up, be sure that her crew will bid for her.

Of course to reach her level takes quite a lot of effort and time, but the results are coming. So this is advanced digital marketing where simply operating as a lone ranger wont cut it. Digital Marketing now needs inclusion of digital communities.

Few Zimbabweans are going for the professional business qualification of the Chartered Institute of Management of Accountants (CIMA). And this has led to less than 5 graduating each year leaving the Zimbabwe CIMA office to relocate to Zambia where enrolment is better.

One of the interesting concept from Management Accounting is the Learning Curve which is also called the Experience Curve concept. It is defined as ‘the rate of a person’s progress in gaining experience or new skills’ and expressed as a mathematical formula Y = a X b , (also seen as Y = aX^b).

Given that CIMA studies are based on practical scenarios, the learning curve questions can be challenging especially when variance analysis and other complex concepts are added.

What students could miss out though is the application of the concept on start-ups. How easy is it to start a business operation in Zimbabwe? At what stage do you start to turn red losses figures into profits?

Let’s draw lessons from top musician Baba Harare.

On his latest post, Baba Harare mentions the first days when he left fellow musician Jah Prayzer and flying solo. One of his first musical shows was in Centenary in Mashonaland Central and he hitched a hike from a long distance driver to the venue and what did he meet?

Shock as a total of 10 musical fans turned up and this was a mega flop for a musician who had become one of the fans favourite guitarist at Third Generation Band and used to performing in front of thousands of ecstatic fans.

However he persevered and went on to build one of the top musical brands in the country.

The learning curve essentially captures inevitable embarrassing moments in the first days. It captures the losses many are not comfortable to publicly share.

Given that 1 out of 5 start-ups remain on feet beyond 5 years, the learning curve costs could be argued to be 80%. High probability of losing plus or minus 80% of capital invested in the first days or years. A key lesson for risk managers and financial analysts.

However through thorough researches and mentorships—you could reduce the costs. If you ask around for business ideas—you are unlikely to be given learning curve costs. Everyone comfortable with sharing the successes but how they reached the stage? The missing link!

In other words Profits=Experience.

Of course the purpose of this article is not to scare you—but just a reality check. The ending of this article of course an inspiration from Baba Harare. From the big flop of 10 fans to thousands of fans attending shows years later.

Keep on grinding.