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Flora Fadzai Sibanda, [email protected] 

DURING a visit to his friend in South Africa a few years ago, Effort Gumbi wasn’t expecting to return with a brilliant business idea that addressed his desire to create jobs rather than work for someone else.

Gumbi, the owner of Effort Cleans and Print Services Company, explains that after seeing his friend’s cleaning company thriving in South Africa, he identified a gap in the market he could potentially fill back home in Zimbabwe. 

He says the sacrifices he made since that day have all been worth it, as he now employs 20 people and has cleaning contracts nationwide.

“I was working at a local supermarket as a manager in Cowdray Park in 2017 when I visited a friend of mine in South Africa. Inspiration hit me when I saw how good his business was doing. There are only a few cleaning companies that we see here in Bulawayo and are locally made. 

“Most of the cleaning companies already belong to big names and that’s why I did not waste time in making sure my company was fully registered. When I came back home I started preparing all the paperwork to get my company registered because I did not want to waste any time in case I became too lazy to run with my idea,” said Gumbi.

Some of the workers

In 2018, he secured the company’s registration. Following this crucial step, Gumbi leveraged his managerial income to invest in high-quality equipment, enabling him to tackle larger contracts.

“From the word go, the dream has always been to go big and make the most out of my company. I only managed to start full operation in 2020. So when everyone else was locked at home during the pandemic I was introducing myself to the industry. By then I did not have any workers. This meant I had to work on my own and because it was Covid-19 people were scared to go out and do that kind of work,” said Gumbi.

Gumbi said his company specialises in post-construction cleaning, while also offering services to a diverse clientele, including prominent hotels and schools.

“I recently got a contract with N1 hotels in Harare. The business has been good,” he said.

While the company primarily caters to commercial clients, they occasionally extend their services to individual needs when staffing allows and schedules permit.

Gumbi reports that the positive client feedback over the past four years has fuelled his team’s dedication to excellence in all their endeavours.

“As a way of giving back to the community that welcomed my company with open arms, I have been initiating a number of clean-up campaigns on the streets of Bulawayo and Harare. I usually go out with my staff members and we remind each other of where we are coming from as a company and most importantly show our community that we appreciate their reception,” said Gumbi. — @flora_sibanda