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Brighton Gumbo Business Reporter
JESSIE Mudimba is a master entrepreneur who started sourcing capital for her business as a maid in 1993.

Sacrificing her salary for two months, November and December of that year was all she needed to venture into business.

After getting what she said was enough to kick start a small business then, Mudimba obtained a passport and ventured into cross border business of selling fish and Binga-baskets in the neighbouring South Africa.

Now 44, Mudimba has become one of the few women in Zimbabwe to have established a business recognised nationally for contributing to the country’s economy.

Originally from Manjolo area under Chief Sikalenge in Ward Six, Binga, the single mother of two has defied all odds to win two awards from the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA) in the 2015 Investor Awards, which were held in Harare recently.

Mudimba was honoured for being the second runner-up in the woman investor of the year category, and also for being the first runner up in the best retail and distribution category.

She could not hide her joy over the prestigious awards when she spoke to Business Chronicle.

“I’m very excited to be a recipient of these high status awards. These achievements mean a lot to me,” she said.

“For me, the awards are an acknowledgement of the contribution of women in the national economy, which often seems hard to come by compared with male counterparts.”

Mudimba said women in all aspects of life were making a difference and usually those distinctions went unnoticed.

Born in 1971, Mudimba is the second born in a family of eight.

“I began my primary education in 1979 at Manjolo Primary School in Binga and skipped Grade Four because of my intelligence.

“After completing Grade Seven, where I scored seven units, I enrolled for secondary education in 1985 and dropped out at Form Two due to lack of funding,” she said.

Mudimba said in her community, educating girls was not a priority.

“I recall sometime when I was told I was grown up enough to look after myself, despite being a child. After that I was compelled to become a house wife because I couldn’t manage to stay home anymore,” she said.

“I was married off in 1988 and the marriage only lasted six months.

“While in wedlock, I was blessed with a baby boy who is now a driver.”

In 1996, Mudimba said she tried her luck in a second marriage, hoping it would work out but failed again.

“However the marriage didn’t work out as it ended in 1997 and from there I called it quits. In the course of my failed marriage I had my second child who recently sat for her Upper Six examinations at Gloag Boarding School.”

The humble businesswoman says her turning point was when she quit marriage to pursue business interests.

“After evaluating my married life I realised that it wasn’t paying off. I then left my husband and became a single mother. I then went full time into business,” she said.

Mudimba said in 2008 she started renting a supermarket building. Four years later, she, together with other business persons, formed the Manjolo Savings Credit Cooperative (Sacco), which advanced loans to members.

Today Mudimba runs a supermarket, restaurant, bakery and butchery and employs eight people, operating under the ‘Bankerton Investments’ brand.

She said Bankerton Investments was registered last year in her name.

On how she balances her life as a single parent and a businesswoman, Mudimba said she has hired a business consultant who offers advice and helps her run the business while she looks after her family.

In light of the prevailing economic challenges, she says being principled and disciplined in handling business funds is golden.

“I maintain bookkeeping principles and treat myself as an employee such that even when I’ve a crisis at home I don’t use business funds,” said Mudimba.

Asked on her prospects, she said she was working on finding a partner to help her establish a fish-farming project in Binga.

“Fish is often scarce in other seasons of the year in the country. So I’ve decided to tap into this opportunity,” she said.

As a word of advice to other upcoming entrepreneurs, Mudimba said there was need for passion and endurance especially in these hard economic times.

“I remember myself when I was just beginning my business, I was being laughed at in my area by a number of women who couldn’t understand that females could be more active in the business area,” she said.

“I endured all those tests and trials because I knew there was more at stake, and here I am now, I’ve my own business and those that were laughing at me are now admiring me.”