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Morris Mpala,  MoB Capital Ltd
MoB Capital has observed how birds rear their offspring. In a small nest in a mopani tree and safe from prey it builds its nest.

One twig at a time and religiously done until the nest is properly done. The patience in the preparation of the ideal nest can best be described as unbelievable.

The bird lays eggs one at a time until the required number is reached.

Then it gives them warmth every single day and night without leaving the nest. It hatches one egg after another, doing it delicately so that it doesn’t injure the young ones but with just enough force to break the shell to free the young ones. The timing is right, the precision is right and the force precise and concise.

They bring life to the young ones, provide warmth as their feathers grow and feed them equally with the right food and at the right times. Also birds nest their young for a while and then coaches them how to fly.

They literally put these young ones under their wings, defend them, feed them, make them learn survival skills before letting them fly into the wild on their own to begin a long journey of survival of the fittest.

All other young ones go through the same rigorous regime before being let to do it on their own far away where their parents would not be there to aid their life battles. Just like in the wild world the business arena is also the same.

This has given rise to mentorship programmes between the upcoming business leader and an accomplished one. You have to learn from others to avoid doing so many mistakes.

How do we rise from that which surrounds us if we are not motivated by that which is above us in terms of financial freedom? We look up to that which is better than us, it is only human nature.

Mentors take the wet behind the ears but promising young leaders and guide them through the treacherous rigors of life. These get groomed in all aspects of business and social life to get an all round business leader.

It’s a quick way of transferring skills from the senior tested leaders to upcoming leaders. With communities they can have twinning arrangements with other communities so that they learn from their more developed counterparts.

It is a system that avoids mistakes that could otherwise arise due to the normal learning process through experience. The exchange of information, expertise by copying the seasoned leader and being guided by the respective leader is a cost effective and efficient way to learn business leadership.

It benefits companies especially those that are undergoing incubation before being let to operate on their own after gaining enough expertise and having learnt the ropes as it were.

Even some board members have been groomed by being seconded to more seasoned directors. It has worked in other countries. With a combination of attending class incubation is creating future leaders in greater numbers than first envisaged.

We just need to start pairing seasoned and upcoming leaders in greater numbers to have more groomed leaders in our societies. Local government’s twinning arrangements is the way to go.

The industrial attachment pioneered by NUST in Bulawayo is a way of bridging the gap between theory and practical for students. Apprenticeships are also a way of nurturing talent before it calls itself whatever tradesperson names they could call themselves under the sun.

The biggest mentorship programme is the incubation principle. This is where you bring all upcoming small business in one coordinate and take them through all business stages from formation to day to day running for a certain period let’s say a year.

During this period they undergo all business training from marketing, corporate governance, sales and marketing until they can be stand alone businesses then they can move on.

While they are trading as it were but they will be learning more about business management and what it entails. This is the real deal in mentorship programmes. This also includes financial packages in the programme. In some parts of the world this has seen SMEs transform into big businesses of renowned repute.

It’s a learning curve while you are doing business but being closely monitored and offered the necessary guidance. Research has shown such companies that undergo such training programmes tend to survive longer and grow into even bigger enterprises.

Even the individuals themselves tend to grow into entrepreneur of high repute. This way we have legacies, that is, companies that go beyond the life of founding members.

We expect such business to survive the rigors of business on their own once they leave these business incubation systems. It’s a challenge to current leaders, tertiary institutions and government departments to embrace mentorship programmes on a larger scale and aggressive manner to churn out future relevant businesses and business leaders that communities are yearning for.

We are at a stage in our economy where transformational leadership is required and such socio-economic algorithms would be coming at an opportune time to maximise human talent.

If you did not know anything about these mentorship programmes you are welcome, otherwise let’s continue on this path.

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