Awards help trailblazer to gain more business partners

Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
AS women continue to break the glass ceiling and become significant players in mainstream economy, the Second Republic has been credited with affording opportunities for women to be active players in socio-economic development of the country.

Over the decades, we have seen women take control and create astounding businesses such as Mberengwa businesswoman, Ms Sylvia Choruwa.

Ms Choruwa is a recipient of the Megafest Business Awards 2021 National Business Woman of the Year Woman of Excellence Award winner 2021.

Despite a barrage of challenges hindering women in their businesses, Ms Choruwa has managed to stand tall, growing her business and employing many people thereby contributing to the growth of the economy.

Ms Choruwa scooped the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Midlands Chapter Business Woman of the Year 2019.

In 2020, she was the first runner-up Businesswoman of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at national level, Branding Award winner and Best Manager Award winner.

She is the founder and director of Isheanopa Group of Companies specialising in clothing, furniture and hardware retail outlets in Zvishavane and Mberengwa.

Her success has been an inspiration to these communities.

Last year, she opened a million-dollar shopping complex in Mberengwa known as the Dubai of Mberengwa.

“Please note that I have been winning awards and accolades since 2018. You talk of Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Small to Medium Enterprises and Megafest,” she chuckles as she holds her recent Megafest award trophy.

Ms Choruwa said Zimbabwe should have the highest percentage of female entrepreneurs in the region because of the abundance of courageous and hardworking women.

She said women are not only leaving a legacy for their peers, but their insights and resilience are also truly inspiring as the country moves towards attaining the upper middle-income economy by 2030.

“In as much as opportunities for women in many economies are limited, I do however, believe that we are supposed to work to create our own opportunities rather than wait for someone to create the environment for us. The awards we get as businesspeople are meant to honour businesses and individuals for their outstanding contributions to the growth and development of the economy. We commend the Second Republic for giving businesses or entrepreneur’s an opportunity to grow, especially the face of Covid-19 that affected us,” said Ms Choruwa.

She said the number of her employees has increased.

“This is due to our recent work being more in construction than in any projects where we are affected directly such that we would need more employees. As a company we always aim to be doing more projects. This means we never take a break from exploring our capacity and challenging our potential. We want to do more construction work though at this point we aim to do this outside our usual and known space,” she said.

Ms Choruwa is also a farmer who is into horticulture.

“We had 300 000 onion heads last year, we have increased to 500 000 this season. We have chickens also on the small piece of land we have. So yes, very true we are into farming where we’re currently and hope to increase our farm produce especially that of horticulture. This is just part of investing in the land going in line with the Government philosophy of making agriculture a business,” she said.

Ms Choruwa said they are also doing philanthropic work through Isheanopa Director’s Foundation.

“However, it is not everything that we’re able to document. We hope to continue doing this through our Isheanopa Director’s Foundation that is currently underway. Some of our philanthropic work is through assisting schools with educational materials, hospitals and the general public at large. We also contributed towards the Covid-19 pandemic fight by donating personal protective equipment to our local Government bodies,” she said.

Ms Choruwa said she was grateful for the conducive environment to grow business they are experiencing now.

“Indeed, we have been growing the economy of Zvishavane and Mberengwa through the opening of more shops which have created employment and brought the local community quality and affordable products. In Mberengwa we recently opened a shopping mall which is yet to actually be fully occupied and we’re currently inviting other businesses to join us at the shopping mall and grow the economy of Mberengwa with us. The mall holds so far furniture shops, clothing, hardware operated by Isheanopa Group, a stock feed shop, a supermarket, a fast food outlet and a soon to be opened state-of-the-art bar and club for our locals to experience different entertainment facilities,” she said.

Asked what she thought about the fame brought by the awards and accolades she has been receiving since 2018, Ms Choruwa said, “When you get recognised at national level in the business field you definitely feel happy and want to push harder to stay at the top and be better at what you do.”

She said since winning accolades, Isheanopa has gained more business partners which is a great deal as it has given her organisation extra exposure.

“We don’t get left out of many opportunities that rise in the economy now thanks to such organisations such as ZNCC and Megafest,” said Ms Choruwa.

She said there were two sides to the fame that have been brought by being in the limelight.

“The bad and the good, however, we constantly try to tie down bad things and allow ourselves to enjoy the benefits of the big stage. We have so far gained more networks with other businesses, especially suppliers of products we are currently dealing with. So we are grateful to these opportunities that are coming because of the fame and limelight brought by the awards,” said Ms Choruwa.

She said the company name, Isheanopa, is self-explanatory.

“I’m a very Christian woman and everything that I have, I strongly believe that God gave me hence the name of my organisation. Covid-19 affected us in many ways but we managed to survive. As a company we have a strategic department that plans for unforeseen circumstances like Covid-19. It is through this strategic department that we managed to survive this Covid-19,” said Ms Choruwa.

On advice to other businesspeople she said, “Stick to what you know, move at your own pace. Lastly, stay disciplined and live within your means.”