Herald Correspondent
As Zimbabwe navigates its economic challenges, it is essential to explore innovative solutions that leverage our unique cultural heritage and indigenous practices.
There is need to engage youth in productive sectors, which requires a multifaceted approach.
As Zimbabweans, we have a rich cultural heritage and indigenous practices that can be leveraged to develop innovative solutions.
The Government has been working with key stakeholders including non-governmental organisations, private voluntary organisations, community-based organisations, churches and schools to accelerate youth empowerment.
Adopt indigenous business models
During the pre-colonial era, our local societies and associations were structured around the spirit of cooperation and community. Business and economic activities were modelled around the concept of common prosperity and progress for the community at large. Individualism was discouraged, and collectivism encouraged. These practices were driven by values like "Hunhu/Ubuntu," which promoted social cohesion within communities and societies.
There were practices like "Mushandira Pamwe" (working together as a community), and "Zunde raMambo/Isiphala SeNkosi."
These practices were premised on the idea of pooling together resources for the greater good for all. Such practices were driven by the realisation that there is strength in numbers, the modern equivalence explained as economies of scale.
In our modern time, this model of conducting business is what we know as cooperative business model.
There is need to adopt the cooperative business model to establish enterprises that will create employment and job opportunities for unemployed youths.
Trained graduates, skilled and experienced youths can form cooperatives as vehicles not only to create jobs, but to also create wealth. The cooperative business model creates mass employment in a single association.
This affords the youths an opportunity to generate income, addresses their social and cultural needs, as well as the environmental issues effecting the community.
Adopt indigenous capital raising models
The Government established the EmpowerBank to provide financial and social solutions to the financially excluded, with a particular focus on young people.
This will help many youths considering that the biggest obstacles to entrepreneurship is the lack of capital.
Some traditional banks are not supportive to funding start-up ventures. Besides, it is costly to get cash from these traditional sources of capital. In any case, some of the youths, fail to meet the banks' requirements for collateral or surety to secure new business financing.
Besides the Empowerbank, youths can also borrow from a strategy used by most women; that of establishing savings and lending clubs (Mukando).
If these informal savings clubs are transformed into community investment or opportunities development cooperatives, a number of people can access start-up capital and establish small to medium enterprises.
This supports the process of formalising the informal sector.
Adopt indigenous investment
models
One gets the impression that investing is only for the rich and not for those of lesser means. For instance, investing on the stock exchange has become almost an 'elitist' activity for the affluent.
Before colonialism, Zimbabweans had their own indigenous investment practices that worked well.
One of the main investment practices was cattle ownership. Cattle were a symbol of wealth and status often used as a store of value. People would invest in them for breeding, milk, and meat production. Cattle ownership was a form of entrepreneurship. People would also invest in grain storage, which was a form of savings and insurance. These old methods of investment still work in our modern-day environment. For instance, grain storage is the modern-day equivalence of commodities trading. And as far as investing in gold and precious metals, nothing has changed except that the gold, precious metals, jewellery and valuable ornaments would need to be put under the custody of formal custodian services providers like the banks.
Land ownership was communal, and families would be allocated land for farming and grazing. It was a form of investment in the community's future. People also invested in craftsmanship and trade, passing down skills from generation to generation.
Focusing on what we have
The most common reason given by our youths for not venturing into business is lack of start-up capital.
There is so much emphasis on what we do not have at the expense of what we have.
It is true that capital is an important factor to starting a business venture. But capital is not the most important nor the only factor for starting a business.
Ideas from lived experiences or community contexts are equally important. Though our youths may be cash or money poor, they are all ideas rich. They are also talent rich, skills rich, expertise rich, and experience rich.
Youths should start with the resources they have.
For those with an agrarian background, better to use the experience and knowledge for rearing small livestock such as goats, sheep and chickens to the full maximum and make it a cash generating vocation.
Similarly, let us use our well-known virtue of hospitality to run village-based lodges, hotels and eateries.
Youths can also establish beekeeping apiaries and many other village-based leisure businesses in our endowed localities and communities. This can be achieved with no to little financial capital outlays.
Adopt formalisation practices
The informal sector in Zimbabwe is estimated to be around 80 percent.
This means most of the business activities are not formalised.
We can learn from other countries, such as Greece and Japan, which have leveraged their cultural heritage and traditional practices to develop successful businesses and industries.
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By adopting formalisation practices, we can transform our informal sector into a vibrant and dynamic economy.
The Greek maritime sector is estimated to contribute about 20 percent to Greece's GDP. This is because Greece has a strong maritime heritage which they have leveraged for economic advancement as a nation.
They have the philosophy that says "Sea is our Fortune": emphasising the importance of the sea and maritime trade to their survival.
For Zimbabwe, "Land is our Fortune." For indeed it is our fortune. Let us master the activities associated with land until we become second to none in the entire world. We can do it!
It is also a commonly known fact that the Japanese's success in business can be attributed to various cultural and societal practices including collectivism, respect for hierarchy, "Kaizen" (continuous improvement), "Keiretsu" (network of interconnected companies promoting cooperation, and "Wa" (prioritising group cohesion and cooperation).
Similarly, the Germans' success can be attributed to various cultural and societal practices including precision and quality, punctuality and reliability, thoroughness and perseverance.
They have cultural business practices like "Mittelstand" (support for small and medium-sized enterprises), and philosophies like "Made in Germany" which emphasises on quality and craftsmanship.
As Zimbabweans, we can utilise our rich heritage and cultural endowments to be the best we can and set up viable, profitable and sustainable businesses that will create sustainable employment, decent jobs, and wealth for our youths.
Givemore Chundu is a development practitioner.
