Regina Bvudzijena
I had the privilege of participating in the inaugural Youth Indaba held in Harare from the 14th to the 15th of March. The event came at an opportune time. Youth are generally finding it difficult to find jobs and get their ideas funded.
The general feeling from the youth who attended the two day event was that they were frustrated by the present challenges but excited to have such a platform where they could air out their grievances and also recommend solutions to their problems.
On the first day of the conference, the youth were inspired by the panellists who represented all facets of youth industries as they shared their success stories. The highlight of the first day of the conference was the tech and innovation session presented by Mrs Natalie Jabangwe CEO of Ecocash and Farai Musendo, the winner of the Total Startupper 2018. Mrs Jabangwe inspired us on how she was job hunted by Strive Masiwa over a blog she had written on Innovation.
The take home message from this was that the youth should be deliberate in all their actions, be it small or big and embrace technology – learn from it and use it as a tool to reach out to many be it in business ventures or career advancements.
We also heard from Farai Masendo who inspired us with his innovation that creates diesel from plastic and is producing at least 60L per day and wax polish from the process. He is very young and has solved 2 main problems in Zimbabwe at one go – literally killing 2 birds with 1 stone, solving the fuel crisis at a small scale and reducing plastic litter in the streets- preoccupying the street kids by paying them to collect plastic waste he uses to make diesel.
This is multi-faceted problem solving through innovation and technology. A great example of how innovation is important in the nation, addressing real problems, through job creation and saving the environment through better waste management.
The ICT entrepreneurial sector was generally well represented. As Tech Hub this excites us we are at the fore front of helping entrepreneurs use digital channels and tools to develop new industries and solve every day problems.
Some of the challenges facing entrepreneurs which need to be addressed were highlighted during the two day event. These include:
- The lack of policy framework for Start-ups which then affects every attempt of growth by the start-up founders as the different facets that are meant to support the start-ups can not because they do not understand fully what start-ups are. We have covered this before in our previous articles. The country’s laws treat start-ups in the same way small to medium scale enterprises or corporates. Start-ups are often just ideas before proven and shaped into a business. Expecting a start-up to start paying taxes and filing returns diverts attention of the important area of building a viable business model. The government must look into this to encourage and assist start-ups innovate.
- Youth entrepreneurs also highlighted the need for the government to both, support currently existing incubation hubs and to set up new ones in the remote areas like Mbire and Muzarabani so that knowledge, funding and information can also reach the outskirts and we can rise together as a nation. Inclusive growth is a major issue which can be solved by incentivising those who setup hubs and innovation centres.
- Funding was one of the most common challenges sighted by youth start-up founders. They concurred that loans do not work in their business ventures as the business models do not guarantee profit making in the early months. They pleaded with the government to assist with venture capital and that the youth funding may reach youth as far as Muzarabani and Bikita. Appropriate funding models are needed and the government can encourage the private sector to fund start-up by giving tax breaks as a way of encouraging the setting up of such funds.
- The last concern they had was for the government to include in its policy framework rules that make it mandatory for corporates to deliberately support start-ups with business and mentorship. They also pleaded with the government to deal with disparities within the processes to tender and that there should a specified Quota of youth representation in all tenders approved.
The President and Minister Kirsty Coventry were very receptive, and encouraged the Youth to participate more. They vowed to prepare an action plan addressing the challenges brought forth by the youth and making it a high priority
There is hope for the youth, the country is embracing technology and the government is currently working on defining Zimbabwe’s critical skills which will assist youth with choosing career paths that will assist with building the nation, taking a leaf from South Africa and how they have clearly outlined their critical skills.
Tech Hub is excited to be part of this process through its co-working space and mentorship programmes for start-ups. I am Regina Bvudzijena the Community Manager at Tech Hub. If you would like to participate in our programmes you can reach me at rbvudzijena@brieftechonline.com or www.cowork.co.zw
