It’s now 2019 and it’s another opportunity to explore & traverse the vast & endless possibilities out there. Zimbabwe is riddled with a multiplicity of problems. Unemployment, poverty, electricity, fuel & foreign currency shortages are some of the prevalent challenges. Even climate-wise, there is now erratic rainfall & very hot temperatures. Those with keen eyes can see these challenges as a breeding ground for many business opportunities. In pursuit of addressing these challenges, a lot of wealth, jobs & prosperity can be created. A lot of opportunities are waiting to be appropriated, both underutilized & unexplored ones. I am going to discuss 10 areas which are laden with business opportunities worth huge amounts of profit. Each and every area is so broad that if one allows their imagination to navigate far & wide, the opportunities are endless.

Software Engineering & Development

The demand for software developers is projected to continue rising globally & locally is no exception. Mobile phone & mobile internet penetration in Zimbabwe is now very high and that means more people are now using digital platforms in their daily routines. The use of software-based platforms across all sectors is still relatively infant in Zimbabwe. A lot of businesses, corporates, institutions etc, still use manual systems in their operations. Thus, proffering ways to digitize or computerize operations for various types of clients is a very lucrative business concept worth venturing into.

E-Commerce

Mobile internet penetration in Zimbabwe is well over 50% and that brings to fore the prospective efficacy of developing online stores. Jeff Bezos, who is currently the world’s richest man with a net-worth of US$125.6 billion started Amazon.com which is the world’s biggest e-commerce site. Jack Ma who owns Alibaba, an e-commerce site, has a net-worth of US$33.3 billion. This makes a loud and clear statement about the vast worth of this domain. Locally, we are yet to see significant players venturing into this field and thus it’s a field worth engaging in.

Social Media Management/Consultancy

Social media use has significantly increased in the country for public figures, corporates etc. You can study, research and become skilled in social media management. Thus you will start offering your services to run social media accounts of different type of clients. You will develop social media strategies, helping determine approaches, posting schedules & content. One can make lots of money from this business concept because most people have social media accounts but don’t have time to manage them plus they don’t have the necessary expertise to run social media accounts strategically & professionally.

Mobile Food Trucks

Due to a wide-ranging array of economic woes currently being experienced by people such as fuel shortages, cash shortages (thus resulting in long bank queues) and so on, one can capitalize on this. This is because there are now ubiquitous clusters of congregated human traffic all over urban areas. Sourcing mobile food trucks, branding them and offering on-demand meals, snacks, refreshments etc, is quite a noble and profitable business initiative.

Greenhouse Farming

Agribusiness in Africa is projected to be in excess of US$1 trillion by 2030. In Zimbabwe agriculture still remains the mainstay of the economy. 2017/2018 the agricultural sector contributed approximately 10.46% to the GDP, however, the sector has the capacity to contribute as much as 16% to 20% to the GDP. At its optimum it can generate as much as 40% of total export earnings, whilst sustaining the lives of at least 67% of the population. One of the major challenges now affecting agribusiness is erratic rainfall & very hot temperatures. This is where greenhouse farming steps in and fills the void. With greenhouse farming, little space is needed, pests and diseases can be easily controlled, production rates are very high (as much as 100 times more than conventional farming) & yields can be realized anytime and anywhere (no dependency on natural weather conditions).

Waste Management & Recycling

The waste management & recycling industry is multi-billion dollar industry in USA & Europe which is still predominantly untapped in Zimbabwe. Approximately 80% of solid waste is ending up in landfills or disposed of in water bodies. An infinite number of products can be developed from solid waste for sale. Plus, non-recyclable waste can be processed to produce usable energy. Energy generation from waste can result in usable heat, electricity or fuel. Processes such as combustion, gasification, pyrolization, anaerobic digestion & landfill gas recovery can be used to generate energy from non-recyclable waste.

Urban & Peri-Urban Building Construction

The proliferation of urban & per-urban building construction continues to grow astronomically. There are lots of business opportunities encapsulated in this field. Think of the fact that many tertiary students are struggling to find decent accommodation. Consider the transformation of shipping containers into accommodation, offices, working environments etc. Think of the many building materials required in construction (one of the commodities Aliko Dangote, whose net-worth is US$10.3 billion, specializes in is cement production). These are just some of the pointers on business opportunities one can work on.

Transportation Services

There is a wide array of aspects one can focus on in this field. Aspects like car parts, auto-service shops, taxi services, car dealerships, driving schools, car importation services, delivery services etc. You don’t necessarily need to be novel, you can provide products & services in new & innovative ways (leverage on technology, the internet and so on).

Web-Based Solutions

A lot of individuals & companies now appreciate the need for a substantial online presence & that is increasing the demand for web development, web hosting & internet services. Lots of money stands to be made by providing these services.

Solar-Based Innovations

Zimbabwe is majorly characterized by clear and sunny skies, meaning that there is plenty of solar energy that can be tapped into. Numerous business initiatives can be wrought from coming up with innovative ways of using solar energy to address common daily problems.

Those 10 great business opportunities for Zimbabweans in 2019. If you’re willing to put in the work and explore the perhaps you’ll be the next big start up success in Zimbabwe.