Buy Zim comes to Zvishavane

two finalists in the My Own Boss — Buy Zimbabwe edition entrepreneurial television reality show.
We all want to share 2 Corinthians 1:3-4- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
May you continue to be the pillar of strength that you have always been to your family especially in your time of grief.
Tomorrow Zvishavane is going to the a huge hive of activity as this weekend marks the start of the Let’s Go Zero — Zero Harm is Possible campaign road shows that will take the campaign message across Zimbabwe beginning with mining town and home of Mimosa Mining Company.
The Zvishavane road show also coincides with the official opening of the first Buy Zimbabwe shop in Zvishavane, Leo’s Store.
Zvishavane also gets to meet the two finalists in My Own Boss — Buy Zimbabwe edition entrepreneurial television reality show.
For those that shall be travelling to Zvishavane I wish you all a safe journey and let us all ensure Zero traffic accidents.
For those that have been following My Own Boss, you will recall that this year’s contestants were instrumental in getting Let’s Go Zero and Leo’s Store started and now that the finals of the show are around the corner the contestants are now making sure that they consolidate their efforts.
May I emphasise that the message of the Let’s Go Zero campaign especially with regards to road traffic carnage is very critical particularly now that we have entered the rainy season and are inching towards the festive season.
The period is deadly serious on Zimbabwean roads and it is quite disturbing to note how road users continue to ignore the loud call to practise safety on the roads.
A week ago when the Buy Zimbabwe team was travelling towards Lytton Industrial Area on a client visit we witnessed what could have turned into a nasty crash when a vehicle coming from the opposite direction made a right turn in front of oncoming traffic. Disturbingly, the driver was on his cellular phone, probably on Whatsapp.
Only last week the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, the Let’s Go Zero Campaign and various stakeholders launched a campaign against the use of cellphones whilst driving but we still get this sort of behaviour on our roads.
Surprisingly, we all know and fully understand how distracting these gadgets can be in general, not only when we are driving.
With the festive season upon us cellphone usage is also at peak. I would like to encourage mobile operators to take the challenge and join in the Let’s Go Zero Campaign and channel part of their huge profits towards ensuring that our roads are safer during the period.
It is really not much to ask from the corporate world that wants to ensure that its labour force is protected at home, on the road and at work during this period.
This is one way of ensuring that people travel and enjoy the festive period safely and that they return to work in January in one piece.
As Buy Zimbabwe we are very excited about the trip to Zvishavane particularly because of the opening of Buy Zimbabwe shop Leo’s Store.
For a long time now there have been calls for us to take Buy Zimbabwe from the boardroom to the street and this process really started with the My Own Boss television show.
We are happy to say that we now have a shop in Zvishavane that stocks exclusively locally manufactured goods.
Although this is a pilot project for the Buy Zimbabwe shop concept, our desire is to ensure that we take the concept across the length and breath of Zimbabwe within the next few months.
With the right support this idea will turn into a huge franchise opportunity in Zimbabwe.
Homage should be paid to the contestant for making this dream a reality and that’s definitely what reality TV is about, turning dreams to reality.
One of our two finalists, Godwin Gogwe and Odert, stands to walk away with the grand prize of a US$25 000 investment into their business come November 17, 2012 during the live broadcast of the My Own Boss finals.
The dream to become an entrepreneur will come true for one of these two. The finals to be held at the Celebration Centre promise to be a thriller in their own right and anyone with a desire to learn how My Own Boss contestants continue to achieve the most unimaginable results need not miss the event.
I close by saying . . . see you all at the finals where the contestants share with you the possibilities that exist in Zimbabwe and show you what a little mentorship can do for someone who does not have any previous experience in business.
Till next week . . . God bless

Robert Garai Muganda is the General Manager Media and Communications at Buy Zimbabwe. He can be contacted on 0772 714 233 or via email: robert@buyzimbabwe. org.zw Facebook: buy Zimbabwe campaign