The
conference was held on the 10th of October at Alliance Francaise de
Harare, captains of industry where available to shed light on current affairs
in the private sector.
First to
address the people was Godfrey Mutizwa chief editor of CNBC Africa! He set the
ball rolling with his expert analysis giving the event a professional touch
from the word go.
Did you know
that African countries are growing faster economically than population wise?
10 of the
fastest growing economies in the world are African!
. With this
enlightening opening, Mutizwa introduced the first speaker
Luke Ngwerume
He got to the
platform with his presentation “Business unusual a paradox” this was
directed towards the nature of local business in relation to the rest of the
world he stated how the world is still shaking off a depression, so the thrust
of his presentation was to debunk this emerging theory that most international
ideas are not applicable to Zimbabwe. Another interesting statistic he
introduced was the how intra-Africa investment had improved to 17% which hinted that within a few years Africa will be the fastest growing continental
block in the world.”If you see something that is not working, it is an opportunity
for you to be productive”. It was amazing how much relevance his presentation
had to the young Entrepreneurial audience; as they queued to meet him during the
tea break.
TINASHE RWODZI
“You eat what you kill” his presentation was
titled “The hunter gatherer” based on the business ethics that helped
his generation build empires, He spoke about breaking the KIA KIA entrepreneur gene born during the high
inflationary period of 2007-2008 by upholding proper business ethics. This
concept of sustainable development was re-enforced by him urging young business
people not to take advantage of their customers, but put them on a pedestal to
ensure their well being creating a better community and market.
Shingai Mutasa
Founder of Musawara enterprises & owner of
Joina city, he started with winding rhetoric about African pride, his
upbringing and how he had worked with plenty venture capitalists from around
the globe eventually connected it to the prevailing economic situation and how
young people can lure investors
“If they were
more economic barriers such as language and the economic empowerment &
indigenization act”. His view point was that for a foreigner to be able to
enter any industry locally they have to partner with a native.
Entrepreneurs
MUNGAI LENNEIYE
The country manager of world bank for Zimbabwe
brought the presentations to an end by
his short speech in which he highlighted the potential the country has if both
human and finance resources are tapped in to.
Mungai also
alluded to the fact that Zimbabwe has one of the most effective tax collection
systems in Africa coming only second to South Africa. This led to an anti-corruption
campaign ensuing.
The
floor was open for discussion and the audience took turns at siphoning wisdom
out of those on the panel.
