Chronicle Editor
Nkosilathi Sibanda, Chronicle Correspondent
COMING back home, after years of living in the United Kingdom presented Patscencia Vundla with an opportunity that she never thought was available.
At the time she left her homeland, Vundla was a distraught woman who, like many in the country, saw a bleak future and needed a quick fix to mend the mess that the economy had on their lives.
She left for Europe. There, in a world full of promise, Vundla was to reshape her life, juggling work and family time. As a mother and wife, the multi-tasking was not a stroll in the park. She managed the balance, but at the back of her mind, the home was calling.
That stay in the UK, over time, seemed to have been divinely designed. Vundla was to reawaken her somewhat hidden desire to be a businesswoman. Her country of birth was the only place she could make meaningful strides in the male-dominated business terrain.
She came and opened True Elegance Restaurant in the city in 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the intense competition in the food sector, it was not easy for her to find her feet. Those years abroad meant that she had lost connection with Bulawayo, her home city.
The solution was to dig deep and find a way to make her business survive in an economy she was not used to. Eventually, she pulled out a stunner of a business idea.
Her start was on an aggressive marketing drive where she lured her contacts in the diaspora to support her new investment. Locals also bought into the idea.
Soon, people started trickling into True Elegance for sumptuous dishes and Zimbabweans living abroad would from time-to-time purchase lunch and dinner for their relatives at the restaurant.
“When I decided to come back to Zimbabwe, many of my friends and family said I made the wrong decision. I knew what I was doing and was determined to make True Elegance a success.
“What they did not know is that I had a solid vision, one that I had long harboured. My experience in the UK was enough for me to learn that I can be who I want to be if I am focused. So, on my return, the restaurant business was born. Those that had a negative feeling about my coming back started to have a change of thought as they saw the business booming,” Vundla said.
Foodies in the city, who spoke to this publication, testify that True Elegance ranks highly, as it provides dishes that are second to none.
With an array of popular menus, what separates this eatery seems to be the hospitality that Vundla prides in.
“In a restaurant, it is not just about eating but the experience. While I was out of the country, I realised that people take food seriously. It is a culture and with the culture, there is a way of life. So, in Bulawayo, as in other places in Zimbabwe, I had to inculcate our love for traditional dishes. The restaurant made a mark by offering that rare business approach that mixes culture and tradition through food.”
Vundla would, apart from running the restaurant, play a part in helping Zimbabweans in the diaspora source groceries for their families. She became, and still is the “go-to runner” for anyone in the diaspora who wants to buy food for their parents in Zimbabwe.
In a span of a year, Vundla established a social development drive rooted in philanthropy where from time to time she hosts lunch and dinner parties for the elderly and underprivileged in the city.
She is proud to have been one of many Zimbabweans who support local companies, in particular, farmers through her business initiative.
“Zimbabweans living abroad have a torrid time trying to find the best way to buy groceries for their relatives. I saw a gap and started outsourcing food from local producers. It was a win-win situation for my business, families and local farmers and other food suppliers.”
In a space of time, having settled well and found her feet with True Elegance, Vundla pulled another milestone. In December last year, she opened another restaurant in Beitbridge.
The eatery’s menu, coupled with its self-oriented service has seen it being named the Best Restaurant in the country at the Hospitality Awards in 2021.
She has been hailed for having helped revamp the economy in Bulawayo by creating employment and helping as many families put food on the table.
“We started as a small company but we have grown to have two branches and plan to open more in Harare, Lupane and Victoria Falls. At the start, the business created employment for over 50 direct people and 100 indirectly. As we speak, we have managed to help as many of our workers find meaning in life,” she said.
At face value, Vundla’s spring in business looks normal, yet it is a story that fits in well with the Government’s call for Zimbabweans living in the diaspora to invest back at home.
After all, this is an example of “Zimbabwe is Open for Business”— a mantra that has worked so well to assure all and sundry that there is no other place to break new ground in business.
She is not the only one who once lived in the UK and decided to do business in her home country.
Countless names fill up the basket but hers is a story of a woman who braved the unknown and made a name at a time when many shied away in fear.
“I have a message to fellow women in Zimbabwe and those in other countries. To those abroad, I say wise up and invest if you can. I saw an opportunity and grabbed it. I am still living. Zimbabwe is our home.
“I am aware that it is not all of us who can open businesses but let us support each other. Whether you are into vegetable vending, farming, tailoring or brick making, as a woman one must be tough and show the world that yithi imbokodo.”
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