After rescuing Zimbabwe's inclusive government from the brink of collapse over a month ago, South African President Jacob Zuma will tomorrow dispatch his mediation team to Harare to engage the parties to nail down details of a road map towards free and fair elections.
Enterprise Zimbabwe is a catalyst for transformation and will work with a select group of partners to reinvigorate Zimbabwe’s once-thriving economy.
Zimbabwe is at a point of hope and possibility. With their entrepreneurial spirit, Zimbabweans are poised for partners to join them and help rebuild their once-thriving economy. The country is emerging from difficult times and now there is a vast number of opportunities for reconstruction, rejuvenation, and entrepreneurship. The concept of Enterprise Zimbabwe was inspired by The Elders, a group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel and chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The Elders offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering, and promote the shared interests of humanity.
Overview
Virgin Unite, Humanity United, and The Nduna Foundation have come together to establish Enterprise Zimbabwe as an independent, non-profit organization for inward investment.
Enterprise Zimbabwe will target three areas:
1: Entrepreneurship & SMEs: Enabling Zimbabweans to realize their full entrepreneurial potential and creating opportunities and resources for small- and medium-sized enterprises.
2: Catalyzing Social Investments: Working closely with key partners to guide philanthropic donations supporting a range of priorities including health, education, women’s economic empowerment, and agriculture.
3:Connection Trips: Connecting philanthropic and commercial partners to Zimbabwe, and matching them with emerging business and social development opportunities.
www.enterprisezimbabwe.org
A unity government by Mugabe and his political rival Tsvangirai appears to have halted the economy's decade-long free-fall, but the country is struggling to restore productivity, feed its people and repair its ruined infrastructure. Unemployment is estimated at over 90 percent.
"In life, people have got to take risks. If everybody waits on the sidelines it will be the people who suffer," said Branson.
"The present state of politics in Zimbabwe is by no means perfect, but it's a great deal better."
"Zimbabwe, of all the African countries, it's got the best chance of getting back ... it just needs a bit of help being kick-started," he said.
About 85 percent of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people live on less than a $1 a day and annual per capita income is less than $400.
Enterprise Zimbabwe, established by Virgin Unite, Humanity United -- run by Pam Omidyar, wife of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar -- and The Nduna Foundation, will be officially launched this week at former U.S. President Bill Clinton's philanthropic summit.
Branson said the three day Clinton Global Initiative in New York was a great place for fundraising.
"We're hoping to bring in other partners into Enterprise Zimbabwe this week and I'm sure that we will," he said. "You can get a lot done ... it's a good time to twist arms and get other people sold on your ideas."
Branson's entry into the fray is predicated at having access to the huge Africa (Zimbabwean) resource. It is also about countering the power of China.
The new initiative was hatched by a Virgin 'philanthropic group', Virgin Unite, and the Nduna Foundation. Virgin Unite brought together a group of partners to create the Zimbabwe Trust "to facilitate investments in small and medium sized enterprises".
Who is Isabella Matambanadzo? She has worked for the Soros Foundation’s Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, and was Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Radio Voice of the People (RadioVOP Zimbabwe). One should read what VOP broadcasts on Zimbabwe to have a clue of what exactly is going on here.
RadioVOP has been there for as long as the sanctions against Zimbabwe have been there. They recently celebrated their ten year anniversary. Their links with the BBC, Reuters in aiding the onslaught on Zimbabwe and Zanu-PF leaves a lot to be desired.
The Nduna Foundation was founded by Amy Robbins – a corporate banker and founder and former Chief Operating Officer of the multi-strategy NY-based hedge fund, Glenview Capital.
The two, Mr Branson and Ms Robbins are financial backers of the so-called "The Elders who last year wanted to come into Zimbabwe and "assess the impact of the cholera crisis in Zimbabwe", but were denied visas.
The Elders include former Irish President Mary Robinson, Mr Richard Branson, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, former US president Jimmy Carter, Cde Samora Machel's ex-wife Graca Machel, retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former South African president Nelson Mandela, etc and Mr Branson.
Bishop Tutu has advocated military action to topple President Mugabe and is connected with many other "charities" that purport to help Zimbabwe.
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