Today I’m looking at types businesses that haven’t necessarily taken off locally but wield so much potential. These are businesses which if started now can sail smoothly into the future. Due to ever-emerging new trends and advancements in technology, it’s important to choose business ventures warily. Some of the businesses I shall be discussing are already commonplace in other countries but yet to become so locally. Some of the future prospects lie in clean energy, farming and internet-based services. So let’s look at 10 businesses for the future:
Renewable Energy Services
There are enormous business prospects in leveraging on renewable clean energy sources such as solar and wind. There’s no question about how energy demands are increasing with the local sources of water and coal failing to adequately cater to the nation. So there are several business approaches that can be employed here e.g. large scale power generation, installation of mini-grids (for homes, communities, towns and so on). Wholesale and retail of solar panels, wind turbines and all other related hardware. Maintenance and support services can also be lines of businesses under this domain.
Greenhouse Farming
There are locals who are currently doing this but I’ve realized over the years that the number has significantly gone down. Changes in weather patterns and the climate are now making it so difficult to farm conventionally. That’s why this is a worthy and timeless venture to embark on. You’ll get to enjoy farming and getting yields all year round. You can harvest huge amounts of produce on a small portion of land. I recently talked about horticulture and it ties in seamlessly with greenhouse farming. In essence, do horticulture using greenhouse farming methods.
Vertical Farming
This is a new age type of farming that doesn’t require land mass (in some cases it doesn’t even need soil at all). It’s a very innovative and high-tech type of farming that’s now in full swing in other nations. It’s indoor farming where farming is done on stacked up trays that are inter-connected and have water rotating around by use of computer systems. This type of farming requires no soil and very limited water supply. I would encourage you to look into it – I’m confident it’s the farming of the future.
Outsourcing Services
I recently discussed how one can start their business as a virtual assistant. This is what I’m talking about here. This is business that hasn’t really sprung in Zimbabwe but will be commonplace in some few years to come. This involves setting up businesses that offer services that other businesses or individuals might outsource. The types of services are so many and diverse and thus this is an interesting type of business to start.
Software Development Services
As a nation, we’re still mainly dependent on software from abroad. I often muse over how countries like China have developed their own versions of Facebook, Google and the like. This is just an example of the vast potential locked up in this field locally. Those local individuals who shall purpose in their hearts to develop cutting-edge local software shall make lots of money. Of course, currently, it might seem that software development is fully appreciated but the future prospects are so bright.
Digital Marketing Services
The use of the internet and social media in business marketing is now prevalent. As much as this is now already happening in Zimbabwe there are still many untapped areas. Things like content creation or marketing, social media management, SEO expertise are some of the digital marketing services that people are making money from. You need only look at developed nations to see so many business angles to approach this field from.
E-Commerce Stores
Several times I’ve mentioned that this one of the areas that need serious local players. We do have players like 10ngah, Zimexapp, just to mention a few. However, we are yet to see significant e-commerce players like Amazon or Alibaba. These two platforms have made their founders multi-billionaires. This simply shows the vast potential this line of business has. Locally I do understand most people are still sceptical about buying stuff online but they are gradually warming up to the concept. A few years from now it’ll be widespread to buy items online – so start investing in this type of business now!
On-Demand Services
Let me cite examples so that you get what I mean. Recently developed businesses like Fresh In A Box, Nyama Farma, Dial A Delivery and Hwindi Taxi are examples of businesses developed to provide on-demand services. On-demand services are plenty and quite diverse so there are many angles to approach this from. Think of laundry, think of accommodation (services like Airnbnb), Trivago (for finding the cheapest hotel by comparing prices on an app). So as you can see the prospects here are limitless – it’s simply about finding a way to use tech to offer on-demand services.
Media-Related Services
Here I’m referring to ways or means to provide online media and monetising it. Already a lot of people are doing this but most aren’t doing it strategically. So you can start a business in this domain by employing certain techniques such as SEO, AdWords, Keywords and so on. Platforms to use here can be vlogging, blogging, being a YouTuber and other related platforms.
Food-Related Services
This is a very active field of business endeavour locally but it still carries lots of untapped potentials. Think of things vegan or organic diets, many people are now pursuing such diets – you can build a food service around that (be it a restaurant, a hotel or a café, for instance). You can approach it from the angle of fast-foods or general food retail. Think of the idea of mobile food trucks – that’s a huge business idea.
So these are my top 10 of some of the business ideas for the future.
