Online ReporterTHIS weekend, Zimbabwean-born Kim Jayde achieved something worth celebrating.
For the second consecutive year, she was recognised as Fashion Icon of the Year at the South Africa Fashion Awards — another remarkable achievement for a Zimbabwean woman who has built a formidable name for herself in one of Africa’s most competitive creative markets.
But as I reflected on Kim’s achievement, I found myself thinking about something much bigger than an award.
I thought about the extraordinary Zimbabwean women scattered across the world who are excelling in their respective industries, contributing to the countries in which they live, building global networks and respected personal brands — while still carrying an unmistakable love for Zimbabwe.
And I asked myself a simple question:
Are we, as a country, doing enough with this extraordinary reservoir of goodwill, access and influence?
Kim Jayde is proudly Zimbabwean, but she is also proudly at home in South Africa and deeply Pan-African in her outlook. That should be celebrated, not seen as a contradiction.
This is the Africa we should be building.
One in which a Zimbabwean can thrive in Johannesburg, London, New York, Sydney or Dubai; contribute meaningfully to that society; celebrate that country; embrace the continent — and still passionately promote the land of her birth.
Kim’s journey itself demonstrates what is possible.
From becoming the first Zimbabwean presenter on MTV Base Africa, to building her own production company and taking her self-funded Kickin’ It With Kim Jayde from YouTube into mainstream television, her platform has become increasingly global.
She has interviewed international figures and travelled the world through her work, yet throughout that journey there has been something wonderfully consistent about Kim: she is proudly Zimbabwean.
She promotes Zimbabwe. She celebrates Zimbabwe. She speaks about where she comes from. Her success has never required her to disconnect herself from her identity.
That is an asset to our country.
And Kim is not alone.
Consider Taponeswa Mavunga, one of the most accomplished Zimbabweans in the international music business.
Her journey has taken her through some of the biggest institutions in global entertainment. Today, as Director of Africa at Sony Music UK, she operates at the intersection of Africa and the global music industry, helping connect African talent and international markets.
Look at the calibre of artists whose careers and campaigns she has worked with over the years: Ed Sheeran, Wizkid, Davido, Jay-Z, Sean Paul, Childish Gambino, Koffee and many others.
These are not distant names to someone like Taponeswa. These are relationships built over more than two decades at the highest levels of the international music industry.
Now imagine what that network potentially means for Zimbabwe.
Imagine an internationally respected Zimbabwean music executive being officially empowered as an ambassador for our country — able to open conversations with artists, executives, promoters, labels and cultural institutions that would otherwise take years to reach.
Could an Ed Sheeran, a Davido or a Wizkid one day be encouraged to experience Zimbabwe, perform here, collaborate with Zimbabwean artists or discover what our country has to offer?
There is no guarantee that an ambassador can simply deliver an international superstar. That is not the point.
The point is access.
Relationships matter.
Credibility matters.
Being able to pick up the phone matters.
And Zimbabweans such as Taponeswa have spent decades building precisely those relationships.
Then consider Jacqueline “Jackie” Mgido, who built an extraordinary international career in Hollywood as a make-up artist and entrepreneur.
Jackie could quite easily have enjoyed her international success and left it there.
Instead, she has repeatedly brought her knowledge home. She has trained Zimbabwean women, encouraged local creatives to think beyond traditional beauty services and towards the film and television industries, invested in the Zimbabwean beauty sector and spoken passionately about what our country can become.
And sometimes the contribution is even more direct.
Jackie invited renowned American celebrity chef, television personality and author Carla Hall to Zimbabwe.
Carla came.
She experienced Harare. She experienced Victoria Falls. She immersed herself in Zimbabwean food and culture.
Think about that for a moment.
That is destination marketing.
That is cultural diplomacy.
That is tourism promotion.
And it happened organically because a Zimbabwean daughter living and succeeding abroad loved her country enough to say to someone within her international network: come and experience Zimbabwe.
This is precisely what I believe we need to understand.
These women are already doing the work.
They are doing it without official titles.
They are doing it without government offices.
They are doing it because they genuinely love Zimbabwe.
So perhaps the question should be: how do we harness this resource?
Perhaps it is time for Zimbabwe to establish a carefully considered programme of Zimbabwe Global Brand and Cultural Ambassadors.
Not political ambassadors.
Not diplomatic appointments.
Not jobs for people who need titles.
I am talking about recognising Zimbabweans who have already built influence in their respective countries and industries and inviting them to use a small part of that influence to advance Zimbabwe.
The distinction is important.
People like Kim Jayde, Taponeswa Mavunga and Jackie Mgido do not need Zimbabwe to validate their careers.
They are already successful.
Their work speaks for itself.
Rather, Zimbabwe needs to recognise the value of having people like them in its corner.
Imagine having carefully selected Zimbabwean ambassadors for fashion and the creative industries, music, film, arts and culture, tourism, sport, business and investment.
Their role would not simply be to pose for photographs or carry ceremonial titles.
When Zimbabwe takes its tourism offering to an international market, bring in the Zimbabwean personalities who already command audiences there.
When our designers need access to international fashion platforms, connect them with Zimbabweans who understand those industries.
When our musicians need introductions to global labels, promoters and collaborators, utilise Zimbabweans who already sit in those rooms.
When an international artist, filmmaker, investor, chef, promoter or creative entrepreneur wants to understand Zimbabwe, let there be credible Zimbabweans within their existing networks who can open that conversation.
And when we want the world to experience Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe, Hwange, Mana Pools, our food, fashion, music, art and hospitality, imagine those stories being told not only by institutions, but by respected people whose audiences already trust them.
That is soft power.
And Zimbabwe possesses far more of it than perhaps we realise.
For decades, the conversation around the African diaspora has too often centred on remittances. Remittances matter enormously. But the value of a diaspora cannot be measured only by how much money it sends home.
There is also intellectual capital.
There is cultural capital.
There are networks.
There is market access.
There is reputation.
There is knowledge.
There is influence.
And there is something that cannot easily be purchased through an advertising campaign: authentic advocacy.
When someone who has succeeded internationally speaks positively and genuinely about Zimbabwe, people listen differently.
The crucial word, however, is genuinely.
We should not simply select famous Zimbabweans and hand them titles.
The people appointed should have demonstrated through their actions that they care about Zimbabwe. They should have credibility in the places and sectors in which they operate. They should understand that representing Zimbabwe is a responsibility, not merely another line for a biography.
Kim is an excellent example because she is already promoting Zimbabwe.
Jackie is an excellent example because she has already brought people and knowledge into Zimbabwe.
Taponeswa is an excellent example because she occupies international spaces and networks that Zimbabwe can benefit from.
We would not be asking these women to suddenly become ambassadors for Zimbabwe. In many ways, they already are.
What we would be doing is recognising that contribution and creating a framework through which Zimbabwe can work with them more deliberately.
And this should not require them to choose between Zimbabwe and the countries they now call home.
Quite the opposite.
Kim’s success in South Africa is good for South Africa, good for Zimbabwe and good for Africa.
Taponeswa’s success within the global music industry creates possibilities far beyond one country.
Jackie’s success in America has not prevented her from bringing knowledge, people and opportunity back to Zimbabwe.
That is the Pan-African and global mindset we should encourage.
I would therefore, like to see Government, through the appropriate institutions responsible for tourism, arts and culture and diaspora affairs, explore a structured national ambassador programme built around credible Zimbabweans already making their mark internationally.
Start small.
Choose carefully.
Make the appointments meaningful.
Give each ambassador a clearly defined area in which they can contribute.
And then work with them.
Give them access to our tourism institutions. Connect them with our embassies and international missions. Bring them into conversations around cultural diplomacy. Give them credible information and opportunities they can take into their networks.
And, importantly, give them something worth promoting.
Because an ambassador can open the door, but Zimbabwe itself must provide the experience, opportunity and environment that makes people want to walk through it.
There is a generation of Zimbabweans around the world that has already broken barriers, entered important rooms and built powerful networks.
We should be proud of them.
But pride alone is not a strategy.
The next question must be: how can their success help create opportunities for the Zimbabweans coming behind them and for the country they continue to love?
Kim Jayde’s latest achievement gives us another reason to celebrate.
But perhaps it should also give us a reason to think differently about the Zimbabwean diaspora.
Our global daughters are already flying the Zimbabwean flag in extraordinary places.
They are opening doors.
They are building networks.
They are telling our story.
They are bringing people home.
Let us find a way to harness that extraordinary resource — not only for their recognition, but for the benefit of Zimbabwe.
Conrad Mwanza is President of the Zimbabwe Achievers Association (ZAA). Diaspora Advicate and Author of the Zimbabwean Dream.
He writes in his personal capacity.
