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Hazel Marimbiza

This is the season when thousands of bright-eyed, ambitious graduates are walking out of the halls of institutions of higher learning and into the larger world. Most of them have begun looking for decent formal jobs but with the country facing economic hardships only a few will be formally employed.

Competition is stiff for graduate schemes at large companies, and the positions graduates are able to fill seem to decrease by the day. However, there is one job market which has been on the rise in recent years: the jobs you make yourself.

Recent graduates can take a few notes from Mr Thabani Madhlayo, 28, who graduated two years back from Lupane State University, and is one of the youth entrepreneurs of today who is fearlessly venturing in empowering business territories.

At first glance Mr Madhlayo, is no different from any other graduate. He studied hard, earned good grades, paid attention to his lecturers and hoped to get the job of his dreams. But once you get to know him, you will realise that he is far from typical. He is an adventurer, armed with well-defined, business plans and is determined to carve out his own unique career path.

He is proceeding with unbridled enthusiasm to change the world around him, make a difference with his ideas, seek solutions that have never been sought, fight social norms, run successful ventures and generate employment for many.

Inspired by the rise in entrepreneurial opportunities, Mr Madhlayo, started by venturing into farming.

“I am involved in horticulture farming. I grow tomatoes and several vegetables on small scale. All these ventures are on a small piece of land. After seeing me make a decent livelihood out of farming, most youths would enquire on how they can also be successful in their businesses,” said Mr Madhlayo.

The eagerness among youths to learn from Mr Madhlayo and the knowledge he holds pushed him to start an organisation called Zimbabwe Progressive Youth Foundation (ZPYF) which seeks to empower other youths to start their own ventures.

Mr Madhlayo said his real source of inspiration is the vision towards youth empowerment.

“ZPYF is a registered organisation towards youth empowerment. It is a dynamic organisation that supports the empowerment of youths through various initiatives to build a socio-economically active youth population. I believe knowledge shared with other youths is value. The foundation is working towards reaching all youths in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe as a nation has highly talented youths and we believe if given guidance, more sustainable businesses will be established and support employment creation for other youths,” said Mr Madhlayo.

He added: “We have set productive activities and services that will promote the development of our youths. We encourage youths to participate in programmes offered by the Government. We are glad to announce that in Zimbabwe, we have a youth bank.

“The purpose of the bank is to support business ventures financially. I am so passionate about seeing youths prosper and develop sustainable businesses that can surely create employment and grow the economy. A handful of youths are getting inspired by my farming initiatives and are setting up their own projects,” said Mr Madhlayo.

Particularly in the agricultural industry, the future is looking bright for young Mr Madhlayo. In respect to agriculture, all his initiatives are self-funded. With regards to ZPYF he has entered into partnership with local organisations such as Sheit-Studio, Twin Connect Solutions and a South African organisation Sharp Minds Consultancy. ZPYF works together with all these organisations to equip both females and males with entrepreneurial skills through various workshops.

“The foundation is also a gender sensitive institution that caters for youths regardless of gender. In 2019, we trained about 500 youths and in rounding up that same year, the foundation set up an empowerment workshop themed,

‘The Enterprising Girl Child’. During this workshop, we sought to address the challenges or hurdles the girl child encounters in setting up a successful entrepreneurial career. Currently, we have upcoming trainings in November which aim to empower youth entrepreneurs to tackle challenges posed by Covid-19,” said Mr Madhlayo.

Due to the fact that the country is in need of innovative youths who create their own employment, efforts of entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe have garnered private organisation and Government backing.

Recently, the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) launched a US$5 million Local Works Zimbabwe Youth Programme to economically empower local youths.

Mr Art Brown, USAid Zimbabwe director said the initiative will help create employment opportunities for youths as well as combat rising poverty among young people in urban and rural areas.

Addressing a stakeholder meeting in Bulawayo, Mr Brown said: “We want you as young people to take the lead in defining and addressing the diverse challenges you face so that we support you to meet your social and economic needs. Youths, particularly young women, remain more likely to be unemployed than any other group in Zimbabwe.

A recent study by the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust found that 93 percent of young people are not formally employed. In addition, young people have been disproportionately impacted by the economic, educational, and social consequences of Covid-19.”

Also, the Government has been playing a pivotal role in ensuring the youths venture into meaningful businesses.

Last year in November, the Government introduced the Presidential Youth Entrepreneurship Programme (PYEP), which seeks to drive entrepreneurship among youths.

The programme aimed at establishing a National Venture Capital Fund (NVCF) to enable youths to access affordable loans, including those engaged in production, thereby encouraging them to be job creators and not job seekers.

While presenting the 2020 National Budget, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said youths contribute immensely to national development, but sometimes their potential is not realised.

“The youths are making an important contribution to economies as productive entrepreneurs and agents of change, hence the need to fully support them in their ventures,” said Prof Ncube.

For graduates, the emerging prosperity of organistions such as ZPYF just might be the opportunity they need.

“As a foundation, in 2020 we started recruiting more graduates from different institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe.

“It is our desire to create programmes that ensure maximum capacity building of our youths who are the future leaders of the industry as we all believe every small business venture is a foundation for a bigger company that can create employment for thousands of others.

“Therefore, we are glad to publicly announce our motive to support the Government of Zimbabwe in ensuring youths are engaging in productive roles towards the growth of the economy,” said Mr Madhlayo.

The opportunity for graduates to try their hand at entrepreneurship seems to be more viable than ever, with support mechanisms such as Government-sponsored startup loans giving young people increased opportunities in the industry.

For graduates looking to get into business straight out of the gate, getting involved in your own creative startup could be the best way to beat the job market.