ZimSME Channel

Eunice Dlamini (50), a nurse by profession, was a vendor at the age of five. She is now a prominent businesswoman - the owner of M&M Joyous Events Catering & Decor Services Company. 20.06.12 by Mkhululi Chimoio Eunice Dlamini fast growing in business. ‘‘I sold tomatoes, sweet potatoes and mealies. Together with other children of my age from the same neighbourhood, we sold our things next to beer halls, at bus terminuses and along the main roads,’’ she said in a recent interview. She never had any problem with subjects that involved calculations and says: “my mother used to joke about my intelligence in mathematics, saying it was because I started selling things when I was very young.’’ Dlamini is proud that even at five, she contributed meaningfully to the family income. ‘‘I did my part and am proud of it. We never went hungry and I feel so good when I realise that I actively contributed to the welfare of the family,’’ she said. She is gratefu

Posted on Jun 11, 2012 HARARE - Zimbabwean youth entrepreneur, Simbarashe Mhungu (31), a nominee for U.S. President’s Innovation Summit and Mentoring Partnership for Young African Leaders and is focused on leveraging U.S. technological advances in the agro-processing sector.  He says the U.S. should up its support for small scale farmers in Zimbabwe. “The current focus of the United States government of promoting sustainable agriculture with a focus on the small scale farmers is the right one for Africa.  I think Zimbabwe probably has the best platform for that growth on the continent because we have small scale farmers with scalable skill-sets and relatively decent agro-processing supply chain infrastructure,” said Mhungu, founder and managing director of Harvest Fresh. Harvest Fresh specializes in agribusiness and food processing. The company was founded in 1993 as BonneZim Private Limited and employed 1,500 Zimbabweans directly and 2,000 indirectly before it filed fo

Max Soutter If you’re in business, you have to plan for success. You know the old saying, “to fail to plan is to plan to fail.” And of-course, if you’re actually serious about implementing your plan, you’re going to write it down. Any business plan not worth writing down is not worth acting on. On the other hand, just because you’ve written down a plan, doesn’t mean it’s a good one – or that it’ll convince the bank. Firstly there are two kinds of business plans The kind you write because you’re actually planning for your business. The kind you write to convince someone else to believe in your vision. The worst business plans, the ones least likely to succeed in actual implementation are the kind written purely for the bank. In other words, your business needs a plan, not because you’re trying to convince an investor, but because your vision is real and you’re serious about succeeding. A common approach in Zimbabwe and in most places is to hire a consultant to write a bu

How do you find your passion? Can I become a billionaire with my passion? How do I build a business around my passion? Why do I need to find my passion? Can I start a business and achieve success with my passion? How can my passion help me become a millionaire ? These are usually the questions thrown at me whenever I discussing the importance of finding your passion . If any of these questions is running through your mind at the moment; I will suggest you read on as I have provided the answers you need.                 “ This is the reason why I stay up twenty hours a day. ” – Sean Diddy Combs Why do you need to find your passion? I don’t really know the conventional answer to this question but I will express myself in my own way. Success coaches and experts recommend you find and follow your passion in life because following your passion increases your chances of success ; whether in business, workplace or personal obligation.          

Divine Ndhlukula, a Zimbabwean national, is the founder and Managing Director of SECURICO, one of Zimbabwe’s largest security companies. The Harare-based outfit is a market leader in the provision of bespoke guarding services and cutting-edge electronic security solutions. Ndhlukula has done remarkably well. In less than 15 years of doing business, SECURICO has achieved a number of significant feats: The $13 million (revenues) company now has more than 3,400 employees – 900 of whom are women. The company was also the first security outfit in Zimbabwe to achieve an ISO (International Organization for Standardisation) certification. Last December the company was the winner of the prestigious Legatum Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship. Divine Ndhlukula is immensely proud of what she’s been able to accomplish so far. The Midlands State University MBA grad granted me an interview recently during which she recounted her start-up journey, shared a few lessons she’s learned in doing bu

Dalumuzi Mhlanga: 2011 College Social Innovator Award Winner Today, I’d like to announce that Dalumuzi Mhlanga is one of three winners of the 2011 College Social Innovator Contest—hosted jointly by the Harvard College Social Innovation Collaborative and the Common Good column at Forbes.com. The following winning essay is written by Mhlanga, an undergraduate student at Harvard College (’13) and founder of Lead Us Today, a non-profit organization in Zimbabwe whose mission is to inspire, mobilize and empower young people to work together beyond socioeconomic barriers so that they can lead community development efforts. One lonely night when I was fifteen, I sat on my bed, surrounded by the few clothes that I owned. As I tried on each of my “outfits”, I looked at my image in the mirror and rated myself on a scale of one to ten. I never scored myself above three. I felt worthless. For me, this was an exercise in assigning my value to society. Fortunately, a few hours later that nigh