In 2013 a group of online entrepreneurs came together and asked themselves the following questions;
- If you want to access information on business opportunities in Zimbabwe, were can you get it?
- If you want to access resources on marketing or access to markets, where can you go?
- If you want to access resources on capital or access to capital, who can assist?
- If you want to partner in business with others, which forums can you join?
- If you are in the Diaspora and interested in business back home, which forum can you join?
We had difficulty in getting answers to the above and decided to set up this forum. Looked at various business Facebook pages and realised the only business was adverts. Dump adverts and more adverts and disappear.
Our model
We set up a Facebook page and started sharing free business information
In order to create a strong community, we also set up various Whatsapp platforms linked to Facebook
We linked the above platforms to our website and compiled information for easy access or reference.
The result is an active forum where information is shared by our various members inspiring more than 50.000 members.
The bonus was the compilation of our first book on business opportunities which unfortunately leaked resulting in more than free 400.000 copies circulating last year.
Our model was inspired by a Japanese concept named Mirasapo whereby entrepreneurs get resources digitally.
Our website is the richest platform for entrepreneurs in the country with more than 650 articles read more than 600.000 times and at any given point in time-there are more than 50 viewers.
Projects
It’s not easy to bring thousands of people together and make them collaborate. It takes years to build relationships and the good thing is after 6 years, we are proud of the engagements on the forum. Everyday hundreds of topics are being discussed in our various forums. Many are getting inspired, more resources shared and more businesses created or improved. Well done to Zimbabwe, our business model bearing fruit.
Business Tours: We do not like to strictly remain online and as a result we do have on the ground activities and one of them is business tours. We have successfully conducted 3 tours to Mozambique (Tete) and managed to unlock opportunities in the little known Tete which is 350km away from Harare. Zimbabweans rarely talk positive stories about Mozambique and yet South Africans are grabbing every available opportunity. Imagine fruits and vegetables being transported from South Africa-passing through Zimbabwe and Mutoko to Mozambique and yet Mutoko farmers cannot literally walk to Mozambique and sell their produce? They prefer travelling to Harare!
Regional Trainings: Opportunities abound beyond the borders-plenty of them! What is it that Zimbabweans can do better than the rest of the world? Our arts and crafts industry! No one can play the mbira instrument like we do. Noone can do sculpture the way we do…not even in advanced economies. So in 2017, we introduced an initiative that created a buzz around SADC. When you invite entrepreneurs to fund their own transport and accommodation to come to Harare from Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi and South Africa-then you have done something really special. The result is we conducted trainings in Harare and followed them across the region. We know all the provinces of South Africa. We had our programs featured on foreign televisions and newspapers. We had governments adopting our programs in Malawi (Disabled persons training) and South Africa (Mpumalanga & Limpopo women trainings). The ANC adopted some of our trainings during the run up to the 2019 elections. In 2018, we adopted training from South Africa and cascaded it to Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Malawi. There is high uptake for our trainings across the region and they know when Zimbabweans come, they deliver! The good thing is we have created a distribution network for Zimbabwean products.
In Zimbabwe, there are fewer uptakes of our trainings but regionally, we are adored and even got an award in Durban for the impact we had in Kwazulu Natal province.
Crowdfunding Activities: We created innovative consolidated adverts on our Facebook platforms which attract an average of 8.000 views (down from 15.000 due to data costs in the country). So great platform for access to markets. We also authored a digital marketing book that takes into account our experiences across the region. Our Digital Marketing Group cements our objective of access to markets.
Our major challenge has been access to capital. How do our members access capital from the forum? We considered the relationships built over the last 6 years and invited our members to a crowdfunding initiative. Overwhelming response and a company formation is in the pipeline with our last meeting coming over the weekend. Members are pooling resources together and yes this agriculture season we will be on the ground. We will review results around March next year and upscale the projects including other areas such as mining.
Our board is composed of 10 members based locally and abroad. They have various skills covering law, accounting, education, medicine, engineering, human resources and NGO management.
We have also opened a South African group which now has 62.000 members with an enormous rate of growth of 1.000 new members every week. Not as effective as our local one but we will get there in a few years time.
Expect 2 new books by end of year, Zim follow up and our debut for South Africans. Most of our Whatsapp groups are full but every month new ones are opened to absorb new members. Regionally, we have an interesting initiative coming early next year.
Apologies for a long write up but we thought we needed our new members to appreciate what the forum is all about. In terms of opportunities information, no one in Zimbabwe can complain-a website, books and a vibrant forum. In terms of markets, we are getting there and the same applies to access to capital.
Credit goes to our thousands of members who actively participate on the forum sharing their experiences and advice.Information shared makes the forum a research institute of small businesses in Zimbabwe.
