The Sunday Mail
ECONET Wireless Zimbabwe chief executive Mr Douglas Mboweni remains confident that the economy will improve and has encouraged businesses to remain focused on innovation and investment to prepare their enterprises for the imminent future growth.
Mr Mboweni said this after he was awarded this year’s Institute of Directors Zimbabwe (IODZ) Director of the Year Award. He said it was critical for businesspeople to continue to do the best they can in their respective sectors as lifting the development levels in the country requires collaboration of all economic players.
“Most times, we are asked how hard it is to operate in the current environment. I have always responded by saying that the key is to do our very best to play our part, in the space allocated to us, despite the circumstances. Obviously, we always have to recognise that our strength and ability is God-given. “This is important because when the environment does come right — and it will —we will need to have invested well to prepare for the upsurge in economic activity which will come with a demand of good and reliable services.
“So, my advice is for all of us to keep working as hard as we can to invest, even in the face of challenges,” he said. Since 2009, Econet has invested more than US$1,2 billion into its local expansion projects, attracting more than eight million subscribers in the process.
Currently the company is now focusing on promoting overlay services.
According to Mr Mboweni, it is important for local businesses to keep up to speed with world trends in governance as businesses now operate in a global environment.
“It is like what the Bible encourages us, as iron sharpens iron. So a brother should sharpen another brother. We operate in a global environment now and the principles of best-practice and corporate governance are universally relevant. “It is important therefore to ensure that our directors are kept up to speed with the latest principles of governance so that as a country we are not left behind,” explained Mr Mboweni.
Under Mr Mboweni’s leadership, Econet was named one of Africa’s top 10 innovative companies by Forbes Magazine in 2012. The firm was the only Zimbabwean company on the list that was dominated by United States-based South African companies.
