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continuously encourage this tradition among youths especially those going through university and college education to emulate from these young founders.
Zimbabwe’s entrepreneurial culture and rate of start-up formation is growing. However, most small businesses remain small for some donkey years until they go into extinction.
With pronounced Government support on various subject matters of entrepreneurship, it is imperative that we nurture serious future entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs play a key role in new firm creation and help reduce unemployment and underemployment which mostly affects young people, especially college graduates in Zimbabwe, who can now go for up to two years before getting underemployed for their four- year degrees and HND diplomas
Challenges for young founders
Small enterprises constitute the single largest job creation segment of our economy; however, it is a fact that only a few make it through their first years. While it is suggested that the major reason for small business failure has much to do with unlimited liability which comes with being an owner of a small business, it is of essence to note that much failure in the Zimbabwean environment has much to do with the lacking infrastructural and organisational support for these budding entrepreneurs.
For small businesses, the majority of whom are young entrepreneurs, face another problem in the form of patronage and nepotism, which leavse most well deserving business ideas undeveloped.
Also an issue is the lack of collateral for young entrepreneurs most of whom are in their early 20s to early 30s for them to get necessary funding.
While they can secure limited funding another major issue is that to do with professional services such as accounting and legal services which may gobble up all the loan funds.
It is fact that one entrepreneur cannot be a jack of all trades and do everything for himself. After all, a good business which can draw investors obviously needs a good working team of knowledgeable individuals.
Enter the Young Entrepreneurs Society of Zimbabwe . . .
Young Entrepreneurs Society of Zimbabwe (YESZim) seeks to solve some of these young entrepreneur-threatening problems as it seeks to operate full-fledged incubation centres countrywide dealing with specific sectors dotted around the strategic corners of Zimbabwe.
Entrepreneur incubation
Incubators are generally an infrastructure geared to support and nurture the establishment and development of small and medium-sized enterprises through sharing office facilities such as access to the Internet and printers, canteen, reception, etc.
In an incubation setting:
Members share the same building and get to spend time together in a social environment;
Interesting competencies, visions and products and a desire for joint development is given priority;
Entrepreneurs have the opportunity to share knowledge and opportunities;
Members are colleagues rather than competitors; this means the members get several other advantages for getting involved including:
Matching/merging to create even larger companies when attracting larger contracts based on their mutually complementary skills and competencies.
The prospect of economies of scale and
A participative and walk the talk management approach as they get their business trust-managed.
The advantage of this approach whereby the businesses are trust-managed for a limited period until full transfer gives young and budding entrepreneurs a chance to grow their asset base without facing the temptation to buy the latest release of Mercedes-Benz before they accumulate real value for their baby companies. YESZim members also have access to high-profile educational seminars, business advisors, mentors and networking events.
Zimbabwean billionaires — The future
With the indigenisation drive, new mineral discoveries and the best weather in the world, we cannot see what’s stopping us from churning out real billionaires like what the Indians, Brazilians, Chinese are doing who are all considered emerging economies.
The time to act is now; the time to create a cherished heritage through proper young entrepreneurs and their businesses is now. The young generation is the future and they constitute the majority of our economy.
Lets all take charge!
Online Reporter