Zimbabwe is made up of two countries- Real Zimbabwe and Virtual Zimbabwe. You can break down Virtual Zimbabwe into Local and Diaspora. There are opportunities, plenty of them in Real Zimbabwe but the field is increasingly getting congested. Now Virtual Zimbabwe seems to have opportunities for everyone irrespective of who you are!

There are loads of opportunities and the good or bad thing is that most Zimbos are still to understand about these opportunities. Conventional education does not cover in detail opportunities in ‘Virtual Zimbabwe’ where opportunities are unlimited.

In ‘Virtual Zimbabwe’ you can set up factories, mining companies, retail shops, newspapers, shopping malls, vehicle sales….hey there are no limits kani. So its easy to give up and say there are no opportunities in Real Zimbabwe because our education was tailor made to grab opportunities in Real Zimbabwe, our role models are people who made monies in Real Zimbabwe…this talk of Virtual Zimbabwe is alien…its an outer space phenomenon!

So u can easily give up all hope when you fail in the Real Zimbabwe but guess what? The good news is that opportunities abound in Virtual Zimbabwe if you are innovative, are willing to work hard and got integrity.

You are reading this article on Virtual Zimbabwe, Calculate the amount of time per week that you spend on Virtual Zimbabwe, some have more friends on Virtual Zimbabwe than in real life….so Virtual Zimbabwe is the future. For now there are still obstacles with less internet coverage in most parts of Zimbabwe but try and imagine 20 years from now. In 20 years internet will be free-everywhere….go to Rwanda for a case study. Visit some Asian countries for inspiration.

Real and Virtual-The battle

Have you seen that there is real battle going on between the 2 Zimbabwe? Look at newspapers…in some developed countries they have done away with newspapers; you no longer find newspapers for sale on street corners. All news is now online or virtual….Banks are downsizing with online transactions taking over…The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) recently closed shop in Harare because they computerized most operations including exams…no more need to send physical exam papers to Harare or Bulawayo for exam candidates and transporting them back to UK.

So the risk here is if you lose interest in Virtual Zimbabwe then you will be swept aside by the Virtual Tide. Virtual Zimbabwe is the future and already we are witnessing more time by youngsters being spend on Virtual Zimbabwe…already over 4 million Zimbos are on Virtual Zimbabwe with the number expected to increase in the future. It is affecting every facet of our lives-families now have Whatsapp Groups, Schools are now connected on Whatsapp and Facebook. There is a whole lot more happening and I may need the entire day to write it up

Grabbing Opportunities

The purpose of this article if for you to grab a piece of Virtual Zimbabwe. To occupy and take advantage of this ‘new country’ where the old generation does not fully appreciate. A Virtual Zimbabwe which is not comprehensively covered in the old system of education. Some are still stuck in Real Zimbabwe and do not see any benefits of the Virtual Zimbabwe…some are even dismissing it out rightly. The fact that some are still decades away from appreciating Virtual Zimbabwe is a big advantage for you.

So go and have a plan to grab a piece of land on Virtual Zimbabwe-occupy as many hectares as possible and resale it in future. Go and build factories, build your own shopping malls, your own stadiums, your own stores and the cost of building is very cheap!

We will cover more opportunities in Virtual Zimbabwe and show developments in this country which is less populated.

NB* Article to be part of a presentation by ZBIN to a group of college students.

ZBIN  once took Homelink to task a few months ago. We asked for more action-more energy from them so that they can play an active part in the Economy. Perhaps a bit harsh but we asked why they were doing nothing in terms of building new homes or bringing new initiatives that benefit the nation. The good news is they have responded in style! They have launched an excellent facility targetting the SMEs, Individuals, Groups and Cross Borders. Dear member, Homelink seems to be back! This is perhaps the best facility for SMEs to date! Homelink has introduced a USD 15 million Cross Border Traders & SME Facility.

The objectives of the facility are as follows:

To provide working capital to support bonafide Cross Border Traders

To provide credit and banking services to Cross Border traders and micro-producers

To provide micro-export finance

Individuals and Group Requirements

1. Reference letter from a registered cross border association
2. Goods/raw materials imported must not be prohibited in terms of statutory instrument 64
3. Security vetting and figure printing to be done at homelink
4. Where one is formally employed, proof of employment in required/Confirmation letter from the employer/3 current payslips/3 month bank statement
5. Where one is not formally employed, an applicant to provide a formally employed guarantor. Guarantor to provide the following(Identity document, confirmation letter from employer, 3 current payslips, 3 month bank statement)
6. Valid Zimbabwean Passport
7. Individual to be an account holder with Agribank
8. Proof of residence in the form of a utility bill issues in the last 3 months. Affidavit by the landlord or confirmation by village heads.
9. A group consists a minimum of 3 up to a maximum of 10 members. All members collectively liable for the group loan repayment

SME Loan Requirements

1. Must be a member of an SME association
2. Must be an account holder with a Zimbabwean bank
3. Goods/raw materials imported must not be prohibited in terms of statutory instrument 64
4. Security vetting and figure printing for directors to be done at homelink
5. Must be buying, manufacturing or producing goods in Zimbabwe for exports
6. Proof of residence of the directors in the form of a utility bill issued in the last 3 months
7. Company documents: CR14,CR6 & registration certificate
8. Bank statement for the past 6 months and confirmation of signatories to the account and /or sales book/invoice books for the past 6 months
9. Financial statements for the past 6 months
10. Projected cashflow for the next 6 to 12 months
11. Asset Register for the company
12. Directors’ personal Asset Register
13. Debtors Book

Loan Terms and Conditions

1. Individual amount from $100 up to $1000
2. Individuals in groups $100 up to $1300 per member
3. SME loan up to $5,000
4. Association Loan up to $30,000
5. Interest Rate up to 1% per month
6. Non-refundable application fees (2% of loan value and a minimum of $10 for individuals and $50 for SMEs)
7. Insurance fees deducted from loan amount (2.1%)
8. Loan tenure 14-90 days
9. Loans above $1.000 shall be disbursed into an account, Visa or Master Card

 Homelink Contact Numbers:

72-74 Samora Machel Avenue, Hardwick House, Harare, Zimbabwe

Phone numbers: +263-4-792800;263-4-790972

Email: trade@homelink.co.zw website www.homelinkzim.com

ZBIN Comment

We would like members to utilise the facility responsibly-remember its a loan and not a free grant. We would like to cover success stories of people who would have benefited. The trick is to do well with a small loan facility and apply for a bigger loan. Also make sure that you have a solid business plan before knocking on the doors of Homelink-we will share with you business plan templates and cashflow templates

*ZBIN Mozambique Group should be the happiest  people celebrating this-for all the efforts that you undertook travelling to Tete in Mozambique, all the endless meetings we had in 2016….what more could we have asked for. We will share more information on the ZBIN Moz Whatsapp Group on opportunities in Mozambique.

Wishing you the best of luck in not only your applications, but successful business ventures funded by Homelink. Next we will push for such facilities to be extended to one of our key constituencies-The Diaspora!