We were joined by Kumbirai Chipadza the co-founder of Kuchera a startup that is looking to improve mining efficiency and reduce costs through vehicle and equipment tracking backed by Augmented Intelligence. The startup came about the BEAM, an initiative run by Beumer Group, one the largest intralogistics firms in the world under their venture builder program.

Kumbirai himself is no stranger to business across Europe and Africa as he was the former CEO of DeutschConnect, a business match-making platform for African startups to access European Markets.

He has not transitioned into this role at Kuchera and we spoke about:

• What is Kuchera trying to achieve in a market with a solid number of competitors?
• How the startup's product offering is going to compete with what's available on the market?
• What Augmented Intelligence means in the context of mining operations.
• How the Beumer Group's wealth of connections and money are helping the Venture Builder Enterprise
• Is VB an alternative to going VC, what are the pitfalls and opportunities?

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Bakari Sibanda, the Head Designer and Founder of By Bakari a Zimbabwean Fashion Brand, joined us to talk about the exciting yet challenging world of fashion in Zimbabwe.

Entrepreneurship is not easy and it's harder still in the creative industry. Bakari answered some fundamental questions and they included:

• How he creates and sources material
• Processes and costs that influence the price of his designs
• Trying and failing to sustain an e-commerce website
• Dependency on social media as the only conceivable alternative to committing to an e-commerce platform
• How he manages cashflow in Zimbabwe's unpredictable operating environment
• The viability of "off the rack" vs custom/bespoke
• Dealing with client demands and how to navigate tricky interactions
• Managing "High-Value Clients" and honouring the reputation of the By Bakari Brand
• What's hindering collaboration in the creative space in Zimbabwe

You can check out his work with the links below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/by_bakari/?hl=en

WhatsApp Catalogue

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I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Leroy Nyangani the co-founder and Team Lead at Need Energy, a SADC (but Zim-born) startup that was selected for the Techstars Equinor Accelerator. This makes it only the second startup with a Zimbabwean founder to be selected for a US-based accelerator. The only other startup is Afriblocks which has Zim's very own Tongayi Choto as a co-founder.

On this episode we talked about:

• What is Need Energy as a startup and its origins
• Why Need Energy is "betting the farm" on smart meters
• How the startup is using data to create renewable energy markets at the end of the grid
• The way Need Energy's platform allows Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to sell energy to end users

• How it created Zimbabwe's first Virtual Energy Grid
• Need Energy's work with traditional gas and electricity providers to create a smart energy mix for its SADC markets

• The future of Renewables in Africa and the world over
• What this opportunity means to Need Energy as it scales

Techstars Equinor Announcement: https://www.techstars.com/newsroom/announcing-the-2023-equinor-and-techstars-energy-accelerator-class

Need Energy's website: https://www.needenergy.io/

Leroy Nyangani's LinkedIn: https://zw.linkedin.com/in/leroy-t-nyangani

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