Rebirth, resilience carry the day

Editor’s Brief
Victoria Ruzvidzo

As the year draws to a close, firms listed and unlisted, State or private-owned, are either counting their profits or their losses. Some have had to restructure while others have folded.

The main factors being the double effects of the Russia-Ukraine tiff which took over from where the deleterious Covid-19 pandemic left off.

It has not been an easy patch, but firms have had to adopt survival tactics that have worked in many instances and conversely produced not so exciting results for others. Others are already spoiling for a brighter year that is on the horizon. The likes of David Whitehead and the Cold Storage Company have found a re-birth regardless of circumstances, and are set to reopen in the coming year.

They say nothing is entirely bad. The gloom associated with disease and war has also produced opportunities that businesses have latched onto to survive. This has meant a lot of resilience, resourcefulness, innovation and all the works.

Zimbabwean firms, at least many of them, are also counted among those in the entire globe that have remained standing despite challenges obtaining for much of the last three years. This is highly commendable and worthy of celebration as the festive season fast approaches.

It has been challenging, but to see capacity utilisation rise to an average 65 percent is amazing. Firms have really been intentional about survival. Innovations coming from tertiary institutions and some of our high schools speak volumes about what this country is made of. The brains, the skills, the knowledge and the desire to achieve are traits that have carried the entire economy through. Going even beyond our borders as Zimbabwean teams in sport, academics and business excel and set new records. And, yes, Mr PS Nick Mangwana sir! You are so right. We cannot help, but marvel at our people!

In all this, resilience has been the buzzword. It is a word largely referred to by multi-lateral institutions such as the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, the World Health Organisation and the African Development Bank. It is a perspective that has become critical in taming global and individual country challenges in recent years.

So, how did local companies manage to face off challenges such as Covid-19, geo-politics, currency volatilities and climate change?

They kept eyes on the ball, adopted corrective and survival measures in sync with reality. There have been agile and harsh decisions, too, which had to be made to better serve and survive, much less thrive.

Businesses that have demonstrably proven to be resilient have been premised on the right conception, strategy and operational structures. Indeed, it is important to formalise, not simply for compliance purposes, but for operational ones, too. In the face of increasing competition, both local and international, firms have had to put the best foot forward, to bring forth the best human capital within one’s capacity in the business growth cycle.

It is important to look concurrently at issues within and without for resilient enterprises. Then and only then, will we be proud of our enterprises, ourselves and that of posterity.

It is critical to have accounting systems in place and exercise some financial discipline and prudence. It is important to insist on issues such as accountability, cost management and tracking systems. These have been neglected by some at their peril.

Building resilient enterprises in Zimbabwe brings compelling arguments for prioritising building enterprises which will last, those that will survive headwinds of any nature; those that will withstand the multidimensional challenges posed by a rapidly evolving operating environment.

Businesses and enterprises must be built to last, strategically, operationally and structurally. This also coalesces with the urgent need to reduce high failure rates of enterprises, with reported success rates of start-ups ranging from 10 to 15 percent within five years of operation, a stunning statistic.

It would mean there is no longevity and all becomes ephemeral. This becomes the very anti-thesis of what we want to achieve.

The Government has been very proactive in supporting enterprises. There is more capacity building. More funding has been extended to business and opportunities created in infrastructure development and other such initiatives. The National Development Strategy 1 identifies SMEs and entrepreneurship in general as key components of Zimbabwe’s economic engine.

The Government has adopted a pro-business culture. It now listens more.

It is in policy formulation that we see its active hand. The Government’s role is in providing an enabling environment. Much of the responsibility, if not obligation, lies with us. Not only for patriotic reasons but for private and esoteric ones. We go into business, in part, if not largely to meet individual goals. But there also comes a time when personal and national ones merge. Hence, it is typically a mutually beneficial relationship.

It becomes mandatory to have resilient businesses, those that will last and serve purposes in poverty reduction, developmental aspirations, economic growth and prosperity. But these do not just come on a platter. They need deliberate and planned efforts.

So, indeed, as the year draws to a close, we pat ourselves at the back in most instances but also paying attention to what we must implement to improve the situation. We are hoping to achieve a 4,6 percent economic growth figure this year. It is in sight and with a little push we can do even better.

Efforts being made by Government and the private sector, among other partners, could yield more results. The war in Ukraine is still with us, Covid-19 has not disappeared entirely but we remain confident that success, in fact, great success will be achieved.

The Invictus oil project is already being touted as containing much more than we expected, Manhize is running and many other projects in mining, manufacturing, tourism, banking and other sectors of the economy.

There are positive vibes going around that the economy is progressing well, despite a few challenges. These are definitely surmountable.

I have reproduced two posts from social media that encourage us to have the right spirit and strategy to achieve better. Here we go:

“DEAR ZIMBABWEANS

A humble request to every Zimbabwean — let’s share this message of hope

Don’t throw garbage on the roads/streets. (please STOP dumping rubbish bags on the roads too )
Don’t spit or urinate on roads and walls.
Don’t write on walls and currency notes.
Don’t abuse and insult others, rather, be patient, tolerant and controlled.
Save water and electricity.
Plant a tree.
Obey traffic rules.
Honour and take care of your parents and grandparents, take their blessings and always respect them.
Respect women.
Give way to ambulances and other emergency vehicles.
Treat your neighbour in the way you would want to be treated.
Do not seek for corners to cut in anything you do.
Be intentional in honesty & integrity.
Fear God in a way that is demonstrated in your lifestyle.
Respect every individual, regardless of race, religion, tribe or status, we are all God’s creations.
Always seek to be part of the solution and not the problem.
Grab every opportunity to be kind and helpful.
Be conscious of setting a good example for younger or junior ones.
Be content and grateful for what you have more than lamenting over what you lack.
Be proud of being a Zimbabwean by focusing on the positives and acknowledging that God does not make mistakes.”