ZimSME Channel

Mining has been identified as one the key  drivers  of the local economy and Meddy Matshalaga is one of the few women operating a mine.  She is the  executive director  of Three Gem  Gold Mines  in Zvishavane and chairs the Licensed Gold Buyers’ Association of Zimbabwe.  ND: Can you give us a brief background of your company? MM: Three Gem  Gold Mines  started at the end of 2007. We started serious operations in 2008 when things were really tough during the Zimbabwe dollar era. The mine started with what you call custom milling (stamp mill) for small-scale miners in Zvishavane where we provided a service to small-scale miners who brought their ore for grinding to produce gold. We began to do mining at very low scale and, later, we received a buying and selling licence.  The company was established with $40 000 savings from my Development International consultancy business. I used the money for construction, bought transformers and a stamp mill. ND: What motivated you to get into this l

Zimbabwean born and bred Norman Moyo, who is currently the chief commercial officer of Zantel, Tanzania, was presented with a prestigious award for making it into the top 40 global executives under the age of 40 in the telecom industry.  The award ceremony was held a fortnight ago in London. The list of award winners was prepared by the leading online and print magazine for the telecom industry Global Telecoms Business, and was compiled by GTS in conjunction with the GSM Association.  The award ceremony was graced by Franco Bernabe, Italia Telecom Chairman and CEO, who personally presented all 40 executives Under-40 with their awards. “I joined the telecoms industry in the early stages of the mobile industry wave. I feel proud to be part of an industry that has completely revolutionised the continent socially, economically, politically or otherwise,” said Moyo.  “The award was a great honour and I dedicate it to all the people I worked with in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria and Tanzania. In

Forget those you see flossing at social scenes or in music videos, these are the rich Kenyans living a life on the fabulous lane. Here are  some of Kenya’s young self-made rich tycoons. They claim to have come a long way. They all hail from humble backgrounds and claim to be involved in legitimate businesses. These relatively unknown but wealthy Kenyans under 40 are going places. Whoever said that life begins at 40 might have not considered about these daredevils who a living large under 40 and own a fortune. We look at entrepreneurs who have made it against all odds. In showbiz circles, the story of Homeboyz Entertainment is well documented. The company owned by the Rabar brothers is a now a conglomerate which rakes in good cash from events, radios, animations et al. Then there are the likes of DJ Stylez-led Code Red, Blackstar Entertainment and Kevin Ombajo’s Trublaq, which are making a kill. Individual musicians like Nameless and Jaguar are also laughing all the way to th

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very interesting aspects of his life: 1. He bought his first share of stock at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late! 2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers. 3. He still lives in the same, small 3-bedroom house in midtown Omaha that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence. 4. He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him. 5. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company. 6. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis. He has given his CEO'

Mutyebere: The brains behind Chicken Slice Courtesy of The Herald Ruramai Gatsi Business Correspondent IN recent months Harare has seen the sprouting of a new brand of fast food outlets under the Chicken Slice brand in a market that Innscor has dominated for years. The brand comprises Chicken Slice, Creamy Slice, Pizza Slice and Slice Express. Naturally the question that has been on almost everyone's lips has been on the personality behind the brand. The driver of the brand is none other than Packers International founder and chief executive Mr Tawanda Mutyebere. After rising from humble beginnings Tawanda was driven by a vision to be his "own boss" one day and this saw him attaining a brand name in the local food industry. Tawanda grew up in a Christian family and said he believes that "Mwari vanoropafadza basa remaoko" (God blesses the works of your hands) thus believes in self-employment. At 35, he has vast experience in finance and administrat

A 14 year old girl, Maud Chifamba has broken new ground by becoming the youngest student to enrol at the University of Zimbabwe after she was admitted to study for a Bachelor of Accountancy Honours Degree. Maud, who defied the odds at the age of 14 when she attained 12 points at Advanced Level will be the nation's youngest Accountant in four years time. Growing up in a poor family in the Hunters resettlement area in Kwekwe and losing her father at a tender age of five, Maud managed to write her Grade seven examination at the age of ten. She took two years to complete her Ordinary Level before she wrote her A-level at the age of 14 and managed to score 12 points. Maud says she owes her success to God. "It is only God who saw me through all what people might think as abnormal," said Maud. Maud’s brother, Gilbert Chifamba said discipline has been the key to his sister's success. "We thought she would just lose her mind on the way but she stood the taste of time, we

WEDNESDAY, 02 MAY 2012 18:52 STAFF REPOTER Zimbabwe has some of the greatest people in the world. Many of these people will never have someone to tell their story. Well that is about to change. He did not have to be in the entertainment world. He did not have to be the richest man in the world. But his success story is worth sharing as we rise up as a nation and we commemorate each other. This is the untold success story of Denver Sadziwa.  Denver is an ordinary young man.Originally from Mutasa district in Mutare Zimbabwe, he was born in Harare at Mbuya Nehanda maternity hospital in 1992. He was raised in Chitungwiza. Denver got a scholarship at LeMoyne Owen College with the help of New Seasons Youth Program. As a young man his dream and ambition was to always be a certified public accountant (CPA). After getting the opportunity to pursue his dream, Denver took full advantage. In his first year as a freshman in College, Denver received an Aca

Fro m a distance, Takudzwa Razemba looks like another kid you would pass on the street without blinking. He wears jeans, sneakers and a backpack; he sips milkshake and hangs witi his friends. But in Razemba's backpack are big dreams and a business plan aimed at making him one of Zimbabwe's first tech billionaires within five years. Razemba, a 21-year-old sytems architect, is one of Africa's breed of technopreneurs-the hip ones with big ideas who make their fathers' generation sit up and take notice. He is a whiz kid who command respect. The award winning 21 year old Zimbabwean webpreneur, is one of the few people in the world to turn down a job at Google. "In August, I received a call from their office in Switzerland and was flattered as it has been my dream job for a long time. They said I could choose at which office in the world I would want to work. Unfortunately, I had to turn down the offer as there are still a few projects I am working on that enable young

Posted by  Three Men On a Boat  on March 30th, 2012 When we went onto the Formula Two website after being alerted of this young sensation, imagine our excitement when we saw the Zimbabwe flag right next to him. We had been told he was Zimbabwean but seeing the flag there, was a moment of inexplicable pride. Axcil Jefferies For Axcil Jefferies, it is a no-brainer. He is a Zimbabwean. In his words I had a few offers from abroad to race, but my manager and I turned them down and we have been patient as Zimbabwe’s economy improves. Zimbabwe is my home, and this is where I learnt my trade. It is my duty to give back. I look forward to raising our flag high again. Yes Zimbabwe, we have a Formula Two racing driver, proudly waving that flag, in spite of numerous offers to change his nationality. In a sport which has traditionally been dominated by the Europeans and the occasional third world driver, to have the only African on the Formula Two circuit coming from the land bet

Written by   Global Editor    //  April 25, 2012  //    Profiles    //    No comments Admire Simbarasi “Allan Wilson High School taught me a lot. That school was a technical school, which i benefited tremendously  from” says Admire Simbarasi, owner  of Pro Digital Media, a company that works on low budget films in California, USA.  We recently caught up with the busy  entrepreneur soon after his arrival from an overseas trip to find out how it all begun. Admire went to Allan Wilson High School in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was brilliant in the Sciences and his parents knew exactly what he should become: a Dentist. He enrolled into Dental School in North Carolina, USA but  after completing half the course, he dropped out. Not because he performed badly. Not because he had no funds, but because he was depressed. He did not enjoy Dental School. It was not his calling. He was living to please his parents and fulfill their dreams, not his. He wanted to go to Film School. That wa

Posted by   Ngoda Business Info Admin   on Apr 24, 2012 in   Start Ups ,   Success Stories   |   4 Comments and 2 Reactions from iZimbabwe.co.zw Over a two week period in February 2012, we partnered with Know Your Zimbos @KnowYourZimbos and called on Zimbabweans everywhere to nominate their peers so we could compile a list of 30 Zimbabweans To Watch! Originally the list was going to be 30 Zimbabweans Under 30 but after realizing it would be hard to verify ages, the Under 30 part was removed. We wanted to showcase regular people who are positive influencers, people who are passionate about their country and their respective fields. The response was overwhelming which made the selection process THAT much harder.We present to you thirty people that we feel have interesting stories and achievements, you should know them and you should keep an eye on them. These are change agents! Despite any challenges that Zimbabwe may be facing, these are just some of the people flying the fl