#ZimZam2015: The Big Finale to the Business and Entrepreneurship Exchange Program with Zambia and Zimbabwe
As of 2004, 68% of the Zimbabwean population lived under the poverty line, and unemployment rate estimates vary from 4% to 95% depending on the source. In Zambia, according to the World Bank, there is only a 71.2% labor rate in the agrarian economy despite 130,000 new young workers in 2010. This snapshot illustrates two countries that need entrepreneurship to empower their people and grow their economies.
However, 75% of startup businesses fail within 2 years according to Gerald Mangena, founder of Great Mountains and Spring 2014 Professional Fellows participant from Zimbabwe. This is why Meridian International Center, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Professional Fellows Division, brought 24 young entrepreneurs from Zambia and Zimbabwe to the United States for an intensive 5-week exchange and training program, the Professional Fellows - Business and Entrepreneurship Exchange Program (BEEP), in the spring and fall of 2014. To complete the program, 8 of the American mentors were nominated by the program participants to travel to Zambia and Zimbabwe in February 2015 for a reverse exchange and entrepreneurship training program.
While traveling, the American mentors participated in panel discussions, business plan pitches, and 1:1 mentoring sessions. Meridian, in collaboration with Hypercube Hub, a technology innovation hub in Harare, planned "Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Day" where mentors used Skype, @263Chat, and Twitter to engage Harare and the broader entrepreneur community in conversation about business and marketing tactics. The discussion and the program can be followed using the hashtag #ZimZam2015.
For both the participants and their American mentors, the experience was unforgettable. Not only were they able to enhance skills critical for the success and growth of their businesses, but they built cross-cultural networks to last a lifetime. Gerald spoke of the program's inspiration saying, "It is the invisible impact that happens in the secret, deep chambers of the heart where determination, hope and inspiration dwells, being the combined driving force of an individual to make great accomplishments in life. "
