Our group is the first to champion Online Forex Trading in Zimbabwe. We provided the platform for free sharing of information and resources on Online Forex Trading in from October 2015. In June 2016 we created a Watsapp Platform for the group where we added more than 200 members.

During the year we later on established  that we had added a lot of people who were not really interested in Online Forex Trading but members who were only interested in hoodwinking unsuspecting members. We had members who were advertising Binary Trading and other Ponzi Schemes. We tried our best to weed out these unscrupulous elements and warning group members of the dangers of working with them.

How Online Forex Trading Fraudsters Work.

Just  like the now defunct MMM, Some so called Online Forex Traders open Whatsapp Groups where they recruit unsuspecting members of the public. They will promise to invest money on behalf of members with the promise of high returns. In the initial stages they usually deliver on these promises with interest rates as high as 100%. After investing several times,   the scheme will collapse with members losing thousands of dollars. Members usually realise that they have been conned when they try to contact the Online Forex Trader but not successful in contacting or locating them.

Our Advice to Group Members

Stop investing in any new activities that you are not sure of. Avoid schemes operated by people you do not know. With the collapse of the MMM scheme other new dodgy schemes are cropping up every day. We therefore urge our members to be wary of any new schemes.

For the purpose of this update I will concentrate on these 2 areas only;

1. Binary Trading: At face value Binary Trading is fine. The only problem comes when one promises members of the public to be an expert trader and takes funds from members for investment.
2. Online Forex Trading: Jut like Binary Trading it looks good on paper-a complex financial trading scheme where millions of profits are made every trading second, millions also being lost every trading second in this high risk high return industry.
3. Bitcoin Trading: Little is known by most Zimbabweans of this new form of currency and Bitcoin Traders are promising high returns to anyone joining their schemes. You pay joining fees and get paid for every member that you recruit.

There are other emerging schemes where members of the public are invited promised unrealistic high returns. Our advice is that you should never ever join these schemes. Never wire any money to anyone promising high returns.

If you remember well, sometime in October 2015 we gave members a warning about MMM and in less than 8 months later, the scheme collapsed. As for our ZBIN Online Forex Trading Group Policy, our message is clear. Just learn the basics on dummy account. Our Administrator Miss Lorraine  will provide you with free resources, free website links, free videos but we will never allow anyone to take funds from members and invest.

If anyone is taking funds from members of the public and promising  high returns on investment then do Zimbabwe a favour-quickly get contact details of the person and approach the Police. Report to the Police anyone promising unrealistic high returns on funds invested! If you would like to try your hand at Online Forex Trading then do a lot of dummy account practice before going live-never ever give funds to anyone to trade on your behalf!

Business Opportunities in Moz Tete Part 2

As promised, here is the last part of the write up of our tour of Mozambique during the Easter period.

1.What can you buy from Tete and Sell in Zim?

Iam not a fan of vending but here is something interesting—-Charcoal! Its all over Tete…a bag costs $1- $1,50…resaleable value is Harare is $8-$10. With most of the charcoal in supermarkets being imported from SA, this is your chance to open your own Charcoal company. Buy charcoal from Mozambique , repackage it , rebrand it and resell it in Zim.

For this to work you need all relevant import licences, for transport costs do not sweat, you can use the empty trucks coming from Malawi enroute to South Africa. My own estimates is that you should be able to make good profits per bag coz when you repackage it unogona kubudisa ma 3 to 4 packets like those sold in Zim.

2.Schools/Colleges

On our way from Harare to Mtoko unongoti wafamba a few kilos…wowona sign yechikoro. Pano neapo chikoro kwakati…neapozve chikoro. All of this comes to a sudden halt as you enter Moz. Maybe they are designed differently? Maybe they are Pole and Dagga schools? Well i may not have all answers but speaking to folks who work in Moz the conclusion reached is that the standard of education that side is very low.

The end result is that folks working in Moz leave their kids to learn in Zim—an uncomfortable arrangement!! Only one college was recently opened by a Zimbo where kids learn the Zim’s standard of education. I would like to believe that there is more room for entry given that this region has the highest number of expats and yet no international school. Our hosts had also opened a crèche in Tete in addition to a small college they opened last year in Chimoio.

3.Food Courts & Shopping Malls

South Africans are opening their own malls, own banks, own companies…they have invaded this city especially across the Zambezi River. Your chance to visit this place and find out how you can personally benefit. Open food courts, boutiques, internet cafes targeting foreigners and locals. . The rentals seem to be reasonable in Tete….Only saw one very good restaurant where we had dinner, a lot of expats were there.

4.Accommodation.

Our hosts said this area is over subscribed…too many hotels have cropped up in the last 3 or so years. But we struggled to find accommodation in the range of $50-$80 per night!! Time for someone to relook at the sector once more with a view to enter it. You can target the expat community too. Plenty of open spaces along the Mighty Zambezi River banks—good investment opportunity.

5.Farming
This is the area where white Zimbo farmers settled after farm evictions a decade ago. A fellow black Zimbo is already doing a piggery project 50 kilos along the Tete-Zambezi Road.

6.Truck I [soliloquy id=”75″]nn

The Road from Tete to Changara does not have a good truck inn..a good place where truck drivers can all stop at one place and rest. Iam envisioning a one place which can also combine with food courts, Mvuma/Zindoga comes to mind.

7.Business Consultancy

The biggest gap in Mozambique is LANGUAGE BARRIER which has created problems in terms of accessing information. All investment opportunities are being taken by ‘foreigners’ because locals ( i mean Zimbos lol) do lack information. Can you imagine i never saw a Zimbo registered vehicle in Mozambique? At the border i only saw 2 vehicles headed for Moz and on way back just 1 Toyota Avensis heading to Moz?
So we agreed with our host that they should set up a website which will become the resource centre of all business information concerning Moz. Jobs, investment opportunities, networking events, new developments etc
We have in mind a place like this forum where information can be easily accessible in the language of your choice- Ndebele, Shona, English and Portuguese.

We have in mind a good platform where you can get information such as:
a. Accommodation
b. Work permits
c. Employment
d. Entertainment
e. Contracts in Moz
f. Business Partnerships
g. Economic Opportunities Tracker
h. Portuguese Learning Centre
i. Importers and Exporters
j. Tourism Opportunities

A first time visitor to Mozambique should get information easily of how long it will take to travel- the distance, necessary documentation, where to live, how to get permits, who to contact etc.

Employers in Mozambique like Zimbabwean  workers because  we are hardworking and honest. They need a place where they can easily contact and recruit potential employees without much hassle. ONE PLACE FOR MOZ OPPORTUTINIES .

*Post originally appeared on the Facebook Page: Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network in March 2016.