Chronicle Editor
Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Reporter
Bulawayo is a beautiful city, filled with kind and warm-hearted people, Kenyan YouTuber African Tigress says after a brief stay in Zimbabwe’s second largest city.
The country’s cultural hub, played host to African Tigress, who has more than 120 000 followers on her YouTube channel.
In Bulawayo, African Tigress was given a tour of the city by a local YouTuber, Claudia Ndlovu. The pair had a US$10 challenge, where they wanted to see what they could buy with that amount of money.
They bought local delicacies such as roasted mealies, umnyii, popcorn, bananas and even passed by the Fife Street craft areas where she bought some ornaments. Claudia showed her other monuments in the city, like the Joshua Mqabuko statue and the National Gallery of Zimbabwe where the Intwasa Festival was being held.
Other monuments that she visited were the Thinking Man at the Bulawayo Tower Block area and Zonkizizwe Shopping Centre in Bradfield.
African Tigress said her journey across Africa has made her realise that crossing the border into another country is generally not an easy thing.
“The most difficult thing that I have encountered in Africa is travelling over the borders. It is hard. The borders weren’t made by us, but the colonisers. I wish that travelling across Africa was made easier and that we don’t encounter problems or difficulties at borders,” said African Tigress.
“Travelling across Africa is expensive. A flight from Kenya to Dubai is cheaper than a flight from Kenya to South Africa. Something needs to be done so that Africans can visit other parts of the continent, it should be cheaper and less strenuous.”
African Tigress said she loved the wide roads in Bulawayo and the blooming purple Jacarandas caught her eye.
“Bulawayo is a very beautiful city and I was surprised it has such wide roads. I was also fascinated by the beautiful Jacaranda trees that line up the roads in the city. Bulawayo reminds me of a city back home called Nakuru. It also has Jacaranda trees which are beautiful,” said African Tigress.
She said one of the highlights of her visit was attending the ZITF, where she got to visit various stands and one from her home country, Kenya, which was in Hall 4.
She was surprised to see a cow costing US$25 000.
African Tigress’ advice to aspiring YouTubers is that they should be themselves.
“When I started, I had a vision on what I wanted to do. Travelling is very expensive. So, I saved up and started travelling around the continent and filming content. I wasn’t using the most expensive camera; they can use their phones and build from there. They should be consistent and persistent.
“When you build your brand through good content then you can start earning from YouTube and having paid adverts.
“The best thing about someone who wants to be a YouTuber is that they have to be themselves. It’s about your personality and people will fall in love with your personality. That’s the advice I’d give people who want to start on YouTube,” said African Tigress.
She visited the majestic Victoria Falls and Harare during her stay in Zimbabwe.
African Tigress hopes to return to Bulawayo to see more of the city and Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter