As we end Women’s
month , we decided to talk about Female Entrepreneurship . Since the dawn of
time, when women were operating businesses as a way of supplementing income. In many
cases, they were trying to avoid poverty or making up for the loss of a spouse.
The ventures that these women undertook were not known as entrepreneurial at that
time, many of them usually had to bow to
their domestic responsibilities. The term entrepreneur is used to
describe individuals who have ideas for products and/or services that they turn
into a working business. In earlier times, this term was reserved for men.
Women became
more involved in the business world only when the idea of women in business
became palatable to the general public. One
major challenge that many women entrepreneurs face is the traditional
gender-roles society may still have on women. Entrepreneurship is still
considered as a male-dominated field, and it may be difficult to surpass these
conventional views.
One woman who has been successful in overcoming
some of these challenges is Chiedza Ziyambe who has successfully launched two projects that have taken shape and made a force to be reckoned within .
As she
shares her journey in business, some of her biggest
lessons and her best moments.
Who
is Chiedza?
I am quite an emotional person,
I literally cry about everything! Movies with sad endings, sad adverts, a fall
out with my sisters -everything! Crying is good though as it releases all
sorts of emotional baggage.
Take us
through your journey of being an entrepreneur and some of the challenges
you faced?
The journey of being an
entrepreneur is very challenging and isolating. The process involves
having a dream or idea and to birth that vision is time consuming and is filled
with quite a lot of setbacks. However, in the process you also develop
tenacity, your drive heightens and you develop in many areas unknown to
yourself. The challenges range from self-doubt, people not believing in you and
doors constantly closing but you still have to remain consistent and push through
all these and let your passion lead you.
A role model is a person who you can
look up to and one day you want to be
just like them . For me it was always my mother. She helped set the
foundation of who I am. She taught me how to be a woman, how to
enact my strength and femininity but most importantly to never
give up no matter what life throws at you. I hope I make
her proud. Even though she's no longer with us, I know she is watching.
You have
been involved in two very successful projects the lingerie line and now you are running UK Zim Fashion Week. Tell us more
about these projects and what you have learnt?
I love celebrating women in whatever
shape or form they come in and as a result I become a patron and
sponsor for the Miss Big pageant. The society we live in currently bombards us
with innuendos that beauty is exclusive to the skinny. I resent the idea
of any woman being made to feel any less because of their size and the Miss Big
Is in rebellion to the idea that only skinny people can be in pageants, every
woman is beautiful in their own right I believe.
Miss Chii, the lingerie line, is one
of my passions, women tend to have their vices such as shoe or bags, and mine
is lingerie. I am blessed with voluptuous assets, which led to my struggle to
find gorgeous, and well-made lingerie. I then decided to make a lingerie line
that is luxurious affordable that caters to all sizes.
After Miss Chii was well received I
realized that there was no platform for me to showcase towards the
women I wanted to reach. This struggle resonated with me that there were
probably other Zimbabwean designers who had created collections but had nowhere
to showcase, as most showcasing platforms are quite expensive to be
part of. There are some Zimbabwean designers who are of International
standard and they now have a platform that celebrates them. For me this quite
empowering and I am working tirelessly to ensure that the platform
competes with all the other platforms around.
Being the Oldest sister to four sisters ,how has it kept you motivated?
It’s been really amazing to have my 4
sisters as my support system, they encourage me and they are also my biggest
critics. There’s also pressure as they look up to me as the oldest so
failure is not an option. I want to inspire them to achieve whatever they work
towards and thus am constantly pushing myself.
How would
you define a powerful women?
A powerful woman is one who knows
that her worth is not defined by being validated by other people, her worth is
innate and it’s her mission to live a fulfilled life. A powerful woman is one
whose struggles are not superficial but she strives to ensure that those around
her are empowered. With power comes great responsibility and that
responsibility is to uplift other women
And open doors for other women too.
The
struggles that an independent woman goes through that being independent
has been over rated, your thoughts on this?
Independence is a vague concept
because one can never fully operate in isolation. Along the way we all need
that buffer system such as mentors, advisers and family or friends. I prefer
the notion of self-sufficiency whilst also acknowledging that it is
innately human to be inter-dependent. Independence is indeed overrated. Even
feminists have to acknowledge that the female struggle is universal despite of
the variations in the struggle. I look up to and am inspired by other women and
also hope that I too in return can inspire other women and girls. I choose
sisterhood over independence.
What does
success mean to you?
Success to me is raising my two
boys in a way that will enable them to go into society as grounded humble and
productive citizens. It’s knowing that I have been there for those
that matter to me in a way that enriches their lives. Success is not monetary to
me but it’s in understanding that after all is said and done, how people feel
about you, the time you have invested in them will matter more than what you
give them.
If you
could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would be more forgiving towards people. I tend to cut people out of my life permanently without
hesitation, especially when I feel there's been a betrayal of trust. I
consider everyone in my circle as a friend so when they do something to me that
I wouldn't do to them, I get quite upset. I guess I just have stop
having high expectations of people, then that way I won't be disappointed.
What was
your best moment?
Holding my sons for the first time,
nothing can ever compare to that.
My Best Success came from the heels of Failure
..
“One thing we learnt from Chiedza Ziyambe , is
if you push through that feeling of being scared ,that feeling of taking risk
,really amazing things can happen . Building your business or Brand takes time
,even making profit into the business is a challenge” …Don’t lose hope ,keep
striving even if it takes years or months ..
Video Clip coming Soon !!!
TheLegacyOfTrueBeauty
Features Writer
Malebo Moloto
