Category: Podcasts
The strange dynamics of Zim’s property market
Shelter or accommodation is one of those things that bring about anxiety. This could be in an existing property or if you are looking at moving to a new one. We have spoken at length about the local financial system, highlighting the quirks and deficiencies that are presently plaguing Zimbabweans. However, it’s often easy to […]
Gwinyai Nyatsoka: CTO for a US tech firm who wants to teach local devs how to do the same remotely
Gwinyai Nyatsoka is a Zimbabwean developer who made it big teaching on Udemy a few years back. When he shared his earnings, the total came to around US$20K, since that time he has become the Chief Technical Officer at Cobbles, a US-based software development firm. I recently had a conversation with Gwinyai Nyastoka about his […]
Wadiwa Wepamoyo Season 2 on Gateway Streams, it’s Jah Prayzah all over again…
Wadiwa Wepamoyo Season 2 dropped today on Gateway Stream, the same platform that Jah Prayzah dropped his album exclusively a little while ago. And it looks like the problems that plagued the latter’s rollout affected Wadiwa Wepamoyo but with the added dimension of video. You can listen to or download the podcast with the link […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Gadgets & devices we have bought thus far in 2021
This is a little belated because we are well past the halfway point of the year but the Technikari crew (Edwin, Rufaro and Valentine) went over their device and gadget acquisitions for 2021 thus far. You will also get a preview of the devices that Edwin will be reviewing soon and what he has made […]
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 […]
Eddie Cross: Zim should have a 5% transaction tax, halve PAYE & no company tax
I was joined yet again by Economist and former member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Monetary Policy Committee Eddie Cross to talk about financing a nation, tax collection and administration as well as electronic transactions You can play or download the podcast with the link below. Alternatively, you can download the podcast on WhatsApp […]
Maud Chifamba: UZ’s youngest ever student at 14, now a Chartered Account
In 2012 and at the very young age of 14, Maud Chifamba became the youngest ever University of Zimbabwe Student and tertiary education student in Southern Africa. I recently got the opportunity to have a chat with her to talk about her journey and experiences. You can download or play the podcast with the link […]
Africa’s 1st karate world champion now has a docuseries & here’s more about it from the man himself
Last week we reported on a docuseries that would detail the journey of Africa’s first Karate World Champion Shihan Samson Muripo. The production was done by a local content platform called Yakontent with the backing of First Mutual Holdings Limited. To get more on about the production I spoke to Tafadzwa Munyaradzi from Yakontent, Farayi […]
Eddie Cross: I’m excited about the Zim economy
Today I was joined by the former member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Monetary Policy Committee, Eddie Cross. We explored the recently launched ZWL $50 note, the contrast in policy and environment from Rhodesia to present-day Zimbabwe. The forex auction system and if it has been a success, his current capacity in financial policymaking […]
From cassettes to WhatsApp MP3s: How music distribution has evolved in Zimbabwe
Who remembers the days when you had to use a pen or pencil to rewind a cassette tape? It feels like a lifetime ago, and for good reason. The production and distribution of music in Zimbabwe (and the world over) has been liberalized to the point that anyone with a laptop can be a producer […]
Bitcoin price fluctuations and how Zim is being lapped in the crypto adoption race
Bitcoin and altcoin price fluctuation is a complex topic to get to the bottom of. There are a number of factors that influence their price. Some factors are apparent while others are in the realm of speculation. To shed light on what causes the dips and peaks in the price of Bitcoin we were joined […]
Meet Dawa Health the startup fighting to reduce maternal mortality
Late last week the Telecel Group and Startupbootcamp Afritech announced the finalists for its Africa wide accelerator. Among the chosen few is a Zimbabwean startup called Dawa Health, which offers antenatal care to expecting parents. Their field of interest is especially important because pregnancy-related deaths are caused by insufficient antenatal care. According to the World […]
Deposit incentives but no protection for USD, the mess that is Zim’s monetary policy
Yesterday we reported on the lack of coverage for USD deposits by the Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC). And a lot of people weren’t too surprised that this provision was not set by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and Ministry of Finance. While that gap exists in the banking sector, the Reserve Bank announced interest […]
Windows 11: The good, the bad and the meh…
Microsoft is launching the next generation of the Windows (11) operating system, tomorrow the 24th of June 2021. We browsed the internet to see what was being said about it and here are our thoughts. You can play or download the podcast with the link below: NB: Techzim is now zero-rated for text-based content. However, for embedded […]
Meme Itel all you want but it’s doing extremely well in Africa
Itel has been the butt of many jokes for the longest time in Zimbabwe. Most of them have been all in good fun but others are a little malicious. It’s good to remember that Transsion, the company that owns Itel, Tecno and Infinix, commands 37% of the smartphone market in Africa according to Counterpoint’s research. […]
The cannabis growers licence fee is keeping Zim from a billion-dollar industry
So earlier this week a German company called Amaetheon Agri was given a licence to grow Marijuana/Cannabis for scientific and medical use. This sparked an internal debate about the whole cannabis licence system in Zimbabwe. The fee is exclusionary by design and this is a bad thing because the govt and economy could be making […]
Zim has ZWL$9.8 billion budget surplus? In this COVID hit economy?!
Earlier this week, Minister for Finance Mthuli Ncube said that Zimbabwe had a budget surplus of ZWL$9.8 billion in Q1 of 2021. A budget surplus is essentially the government making more money from income like taxes and the likes than it is spending. Now there are many ways to interpret this especially with COVID-19 being […]
Does Huawei’s Harmony OS stand a chance against iOS & Android?
Huawei’s Harmony OS has been in the works for some time. Murmurs of the iOS and Android competitor date back to the mid-2010s and its imminent arrival will be a welcome addition to the smartphone and appliance market. However with Huawei’s app gallery light on apps and it being outside the well known Android and […]
City of Harare’s hilarious and clueless Twitter storm
The City of Harare earlier this week went on a bit of a rant on Twitter where it issued a number of orders like dog licences, civilians not being allowed to control traffic at intersections with dead signal lights and many more. We couldn’t resist adding our own commentary on it after seeing some of […]
One week of SI 127: experts & armchair economists were right
This time last week we got the news that the government had issued Statutory Instrument 127 of 2021. In SI 127 are a raft of new measures that govern the rules of forex in the country not only for those participating in RBZ’s Forex Auction but for the nation at large. And as I am […]
Extending 10-year-old car imports after “the ban” is all about the money
So… yesterday the Ministry of Commerce and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) released a joint statement that extended the grace period for the ban on imports of second-hand cars that are 10 years or older till June 30th 2021. Now, this isn’t too surprising because the reasons for the ban didn’t make a lick of […]
SI 127 is going to increase ZWL$ prices & encourage black market conversions
Yesterday the government announced SI 127 of 2021 which put new rules and penalties of forex use. The Statutory Instrument looks like it was designed to stop businesses from pricing goods and services above the auction-rate more than anything else… The response by businesses as we saw in a tweet by journalist Hopewell Chin’ono is […]
Neria 2021: A welcome update for the modern age or unnecessary?
A Zimbabwean classic getting a refresh…
Zim’s first WhatsApp exclusive drama is going to be like a family Group Chat
Is this going to change content consupmtion in Zim?