So how has the forum fared in 2020? Well it has been a tough year with the Covid-19 Pandemic wreaking havoc and negatively affecting every facet of life with business not spared. However the forum still managed to register some successes and below we look at some of them.
Crowdfunding: The best output from the forum has been the inspiration members got from the forum and pooling resources in order to form companies. Not easy for people located in different parts of the globe to network and pool resources to form companies. We ignited the spirit of crowdfunding and registered several companies such as;
- Agri-volution: Agri business initiative formed in January 2020
- Big Ideas Galore [BIG]: Our South Africa chapter managed to form an own investment company in May 2020
- Nutricio: An agro processing company of 30 shareholders with an initial paid up capital of US$9k
- Global Runners Com: A runner services company registered in South Africa in October 2020
- Patsime: Our biggest crowdfunding initiative to date with a target capital of US$50k
Forum Meetings: Its official, our forum attracted the largest number of members in Zimbabwe! Started on a great note in February with 180 members, increased the tally in March with 200 members before Covid-19 upset the cart in April. We picked up the momentum in October in 2020 with probably the largest local business tour in Zimbabwe with 100 members making it to Seke Tour.
Our RSA chapter joined too holding meetings at the same time with their Zimbabwean counterparts.
We also initiated area specific meetings in November that saw the forum holding meetings in Chitungwiza, Ruwa, Monavale, Warren Park, Kuwadzana, Mufakose, Glenview, Budiriro, Bulawayo and Gauteng. These meetings started on a slow note with expectations of more members attending in December and follow on months.
Formation of ZBIN Women’s Forum: All is set for the launch of the Women’s Wing of the forum which has a target of mobilising and empowering 90,000 women by2025. The forum has already identified 3 projects they will pursue in 2021.
Book Launch: Our books are unique for they cover an area not covered in many books and educational materials—opportunities for Zimbabwe! We launched our book at Capitalk Gardens and also got interview coverage on ZTV Good Morning Show. We also published Zimbabwe’s first book on Digital Marketing in May 2020.
Premium Chats: We introduced Premium Chats that feature our forum members presenting on various topics every Friday evening and the uptake has been encouraging with many presenters coming on board—with solid support forum members.
Record Forum Views: Our Facebook numbers grew to 92,000 as of December 2020 with forum views on a monthly basis shooting from 162,000 to 760,000. The forum participation is unparalleled in the country for a business forum. This has created a rich platform for access to markets and resource sharing.
Partnerships: We partnered with Capitalk FM for holding our forum events at their Capitalk Gardens in Chisipite and look forward to more partnerships in 2021
ZBIN TV: We launched our Youtube Channel for featuring and boosting the profiles of forum members. We expect more work to boost the network in 2021.
Business Coach of Year Award: To cap all the great work taking place on the forum, we received an award as finalist for the Business Coach of 2020. This means a lot for us to be recognised by the International Coaching and Mentorship Foundation (ICMF)
