Mainstream employment in Zimbabwe has been a scarce thing to come by. With universities churning out graduates in their thousands every year, the opportunities for mainstream employment are highly coveted and cannot cater for every one of them.
However, the Zimbabwean youth have not run out of ideas, they have embraced their entrepreneurial side and to those who do not have one, they have created one.
Employment creation by the youth is now the order of the day. Graduates are now seeing this as a viable option than to wait to be employed by mainstream formal employers. With youths venturing into small scale farming, small scale manufacturing, mining and retail (the list is quite long) they have found a place for themselves in the employment arena where the weak are booted out by strong competitors.
They have found a way to nurture their entrepreneurial spirit and this makes them resilient, dedicated and passionate in an economy with harsh conditions and an ever changing economic playing field.
Zimtrade, after taking note of these young entrepreneurs, has taken a step to help these young entrepreneurs by launching a youth export incubation programme titled Eagles’ Nest in 2020.
According to their website:
“The objective of the programme is to nurture youth-led SME’s into export-ready companies.
This will be achieved through various interventions that are aimed at improving the competitiveness of youth-owned enterprises and developing linkages to local and international markets.”
This is just a fraction of what is happening in the youth entrepreneurial field. There are a number of initiatives being done, some are well publicised and some not so much.
The youths are the custodians of tomorrow and their will power, ingenuity, drive and passion will help in forging a prosperous Zimbabwe. All that is needed is support from the Government and relevant stakeholders.
