Category: Entrepreneurship
Local freelance startup AfriBlocks gets US$100K funding from Google
AfriBlocks has gone from strength to strength. The company announced yesterday that it has been awarded US$100,000 by Google as part of its US Black Founders Fund. “It’s such an honour to be announced as part of this year’s Google for Startups U.S. Black Founders Fund. From technical support to a network of incredible startups, […]
Zim’s drone expert talks about manufacturing plans & problems with local operating environment
Yesterday, Zimbabwe’s Drone expert Tawanda Chihambakwe pitched his ideas to ZESA and a delegation from Rwanda Energy. After the presentation, I had an opportunity to talk to Tawanda about the plans that he had going forward like manufacturing drones locally. We also talked about the problems that local startups have had in navigating Zimbabwe’s very […]
Mature local startups have struggled in the “pandemic eCommerce boom”
So, we have been saying for a long time that eCommerce is on the up in Zimbabwe and that’s true. We have seen a number of new services, as well as traditional players, adopt online buying and selling. Now, as great as this is, there are some considerable problems that eCommerce based startups have faced […]
National Venture Capital Fund is looking for investment proposals
The National Venture Capital Fund (NVCF) is a project from the Ministry of Finance that was launched in the 2020 Budget. The aim of the initiative is to assist local startups and small businesses in accessing funds to further their business ideas. “Priority is given to projects with the capacity to create new employment, generate […]
Simon Nyamuda: Managing Director at 22, now Young Executive of the Year
Today I was joined by Simon Nyamuda, Managing Director of Compulink Systems. His, is an interesting journey of taking the reigns of a business at the tender age of 22 and leading the company forward. His remarkable work has not gone unnoticed as he was named IODz Young Director of the Year for 2019 and […]
Mutsapuri, a local logistic startup charging ZWL$100 per delivery
While scrolling around on the interwebs I found what is one of the most exciting initiatives I have personally seen in some time. There is a local logistics startup called Mutsapuri that is a youth and community-focused company, charging a very reasonable rate. The first reason why Mutsapuri has excited me is the means by […]
This local e-learning startup is aiming to replace brick & mortar schools
Last week we reported on EduXpert, a local e-learning startup that offers lessons for pre-primary all the way to trade schools and tertiary education. The platform does this by giving anyone with the skills and qualifications an avenue to monetise their knowledge and experience. On the students’ side of things, they get to pick and […]
It’s probably expensive because it’s actually good value
Sometimes the price of a product, service or experience is high because it’s taken a lot of time to develop and perfect. This, of course, doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few crafty flea market vendors out there who’ll rip you off. It’s a mess but we tried to make sense of it through our […]
POTRAZ is celebrating its 20th birthday with two hackathons
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, POTRAZ is running two Hackathon Challenges in September and October 2021. The two events, which will be conducted virtually in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic, will be held under the theme “#POTRAZ@20Challenge”. The first Hackathon will focus on a COVID-19 sub-theme whilst the second one will focus on agriculture. #TowardsADigitalEconomyInACovid-19Zim […]
Comic Pastor makes Old Mutual US$25K Challenge Top 25
Old Mutual has announced the Top 25 of its Value Creation Challenge (VCC) for 2021. The challenge is a partnership between Eight2Five Initiative (Old Mutual’s Hub), and The British Council that was created to support small businesses and entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe. Of all the entrants into the competition, the following have made it into the […]
Starting a business or freelancing? Read this book
So I have developed a Tiktok addiction. I never paid much mind to the platform for the longest time but a friend lured me on it and I was hooked. Aside from the dances, trends and all the rest, there are some really good creators sharing their experience and knowledge. The skill-sharing ranges from content […]
Zimbabwe needs a Startup Law (or Act): Here’s why
Unconventional Capital (UNCAP) notes that, 6/12 of the fastest growing economies in the world are African 22% of Africa’s working age population are starting new businesses 98% of early-stage enterprises are financially underserved and 90% of Venture Capital funding in East Africa still goes to expats. This statistical evidence highlights the need for African countries to […]
Chad Chawanda: from panel beating to pan-African digital marketing
Chad Chawanda is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur who has a vested interest in a number of fields. He started out his business journey as a dropout, went into a panel beating business, then quickly pivoted to trade (local and regional) and digital marketing. Chad has a number of companies he is affiliated with namely ADvocado a […]
From working in a factory to having an animated show on TV
Christopher Tsamba is a local animator who, through his company Mbasta Animation, got an animated show on ZBC TV. I recently had the pleasure of talking to him about the struggles of trying to make it as a content creator in Zimbabwe. As well as how he got his show on ZBC. You can download […]
Standard Chartered launches US$1000 Youth Startup Challenge
Standard Chartered Zimbabwe has launched a new community project to support the youth in Zimbabwe recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The programme is part of Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, the Bank’s global initiative to tackle inequality by promoting economic inclusion for young people for disadvantaged young people across its markets, including […]
What I learned from the African Drone Professional, Tawanda Chihambakwe
I recently had a fantastic conversation with Tawanda Chihambakwe. Tawanda is the cofounder of Precision Aerial (a local drone services and consultancy startup) and Director of Zimbabwe Flying Labs. We talked about how Tawanda discovered the opportunities of drones, the challenges of entrepreneurship and which career options are available for people interested in entering the […]
Zim entrepreneur named among top 100 automotive leaders for super car design
Zim businessman/entrepreneur Devine Mafa was named among the Top 100 World Innovators at the International Transportation and Automotive Summit (ITAS) Annual Conference in Las Vegas, USA. If the name Devin Mafa sounds familiar it is because a couple of months ago his company Hende Moto announced that it had secured a US$ 1 million deal […]
Opportunities presented by Zimbabwe’s rollout of a National Electronic Health Record system
Since February 2015, the Ministry of Health and Child Care with help of funding partners has been designing, developing, and testing an electronic health record (EHR) system, named “Impilo”. This is meant to reduce the current burden of paper data collection for health workers and ultimately improve the quality of care in public health facilities. […]
Old Mutual’s Eight2Five Hub & British Council US$25K challenge deadline extended
Eight2Five Innovation Hub, powered by Old Mutual in partnership with British Council wishes to announce the extension of the Value Creation Challenge application submission deadline from the initial 25th of June to the 8th of July 2021. The Eight2Five Value Creation Challenge seeks to support businesses and start-ups that provide innovative and sustainable solutions to […]
What I learnt from this African Animator’s journey…
I recently had a great conversation with Pious Nyenyewa. Yes, the Zimbabwean animator who was recently announced as one of the directors of Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire (a Disney Plus Original anthology of animated films). The fact that Pious has gotten this far means he has probably done something right. From our conversation I took […]
Ministry of Finance warns of fake US$500K entrepreneur fund
The Ministry of Finance has warned the public of a fake email that has been circulating inviting local entrepreneurs to apply for financial aid as part of a COVID -19 recovery program. The statement from the Ministry of Finance reads as follows: The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has noted with grave concern, some […]
5 Lessons from the Yunus East and Southern Africa business Forum for Youth Entrepreneurs
5 lessons for Zim’s social entrepreneurs from the recently held Yunus East and Southern Africa business Forum for Youth Entrepreneurs
Video: Young African and Aspiring – Nyeleti Furumele founder of #BossGirl
Africa has a number unique challenges and many of those are being addressed by the youth of the continent. Young African and Aspiring is where we give those young people a chance to tell their stories about the changes they are effecting in their societies and communities. This isn’t limited to tech and startups but […]
Whatsapp has added a shopping carts feature
Whatsapp has introduced a new shopping carts feature, making shopping a breeze.
7th Edition of Africa Early Stage Investor Summit Announced – Here’s how you can follow
Venture Capital 4 Africa (VC4A) and ABAN are eager to announce the 7th and virtual edition of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (#AESIS2020). The Summit will take place on 3 & 4 November online. With a number of record-level deals making the headlines over the last year, Africa’s startup industry is ripe for investment. VC4A and […]
Global Startup Awards opens application for administrative positions as they expand across Africa
We’ve written about the Southern Africa Startup Awards on a number of occasions now. Southern Africa Start-up Awards is part of the Global Start-up Awards, providing an annual spotlight for entrepreneurs. The showcase celebrates amazing ideas and the best talents from 7 regions, 50+ countries across the globe to showcase entrepreneurial spirit and start-ups. The […]
This African startup school is offering a free course to help entrepreneurs start their business
StartupCircles.AI is an online accelerator and startup school targeting entrepreneurs with the following problems; You feel it’s time to start your own business but you don’t know where to begin; You want to pitch investors and are not sure how to go about it; You’ve spent a lot of money and time on a solution […]
Venture Capital 4 Africa calls for African startups looking to raise US$150k – US$1M
VC4A is calling for African startups looking to raise between $150K and $1M. In collaboration with technical partner AWS Activate, and network partners AfriLabs and ABAN, VC4A will be hosting the exclusive Venture Showcase – Seed in November as part of a virtual gathering of Africa-focused early-stage investors. Via this campaign VC4A will select 10 innovative […]
Duplicating business models from global brands in Zimbabwe
Innovation. Disruption. Original. These are some of the buzzwords in the entrepreneurship arena that every player wishes to be associated with. There have been several new ideas that came in and shook up their respective industries from Apple with the first most adopted graphical user interface computer to Uber destroying the taxi industry in several […]
Seedstars online pitching competition open to tech startups
Seedstars is back again for the 5th time – but this time there will be a twist. Everything is being done virtually and for that we have COVID-19 to thank. From June to November each year, the Seedstars team looks for the most promising early-stage startups from 90+ emerging markets that will receive intensive training […]