Worth a thousand words
A picture surfaced on Social media. In the picture a young man was on one knee proposing to a lady. It later surfaced that picture was taken on 26 December 2018 at the Trade Fair Chicken Inn Bulawayo. The proposal got the attention of many participants on social, for perhaps the wrong reasons. For reasons best known to them, many believed that the choice of place to propose (a fast food restaurant) was less than ideal. And this got the picture trending with differing views coming through.
Corporates step in
What ensued was a response which despite the all the negativity associated with the 2018 Christmas period showed that Christmas spirit was still present in Zimbabwe. Business in general has not had the best of images given the price increases which have led to record inflation rates in the multi-currency era. Businesses, of course, are doing their best to survive but it’s fair to say some of the disgruntlement has been directed toward them.
Businesses and professionals came through for the couple and started a search for them in order to avail their services to them.
Pamushana Africa Transport
David Zinyama
Ster Kinekor
DimmCom McCann
Pizza Hut
Lagunas
Oceane perfumes
Two Keys Guest House
GPC print and advertising
Chicken Inn
Tariro neGitare
Global shield constructions
We wouldn’t be surprised if more people have stepped in since the time of editing.
Lesson here
This not the only show of businesses giving back to the community they serve in Zimbabwe of course. It does however further show that corporate Zimbabwe is not made up of machines who are simply out for profit. While one could argue that the businesses doing so get major mileage and brownie points out of these activities the fact remains that good deeds were done. A business is always a part of the community and reactions remind us that corporate social involvement goes beyond donating things here and there out of responsibility. As such, caring about what the community cares about (or at least talks about) shows community involvement.
My favourite aspect of this story is what the various benefactors have offered. They have offered their services, their specific skill sets and expertise to the couple. And this goes beyond a helping hand. If you’re in businesses and your doors are still open in this environment then you are the very least good at what you do. Offering people that which you are especially qualified to do is the highest level of social involvement.
As start ups and small businesses there may be a reluctance to get involved in social investment and responsibility programs because we think we just don’t have the big bucks to make a dent on the situations. That may be true, however many a time we can do through our skills rather than our wallets. So think of organisations groups and causes out there that could benefit from your expertise in your field.
We at StartupBiz Zimbabwe would like to wish the happy couple all the best .
