The Sunday Mail
MBARE Musika has for long been considered as the hustling capital of the capital city.
From the time the settlement was established as the first high-density suburb in the country in 1907, Mbare gradually evolved into a cosmopolitan sanctuary that attracted migrant labourers from places like Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique.
The demand for labour that had been occasioned by the establishment of Salisbury — now Harare — led to the construction of the Mbare flats and Matapi hostels.
A subsidiary settlement subsequently grew, and, with time, a major nerve centre for transport through the major terminus linking Harare to all the areas around the country.
Mbare Agricultural Market also became a key economic player, spawning a new breed of traders.
As economic activity snowballed, Mbare gave birth to secondary market places such as Mupedzanhamo, which now predominantly sells second-hand clothing items and wares, and Magaba, where artisans mould metal into various articles of craftsmanship — cooking pots, cups, bathing basins and carpentry work such as tables, beds, chairs, display cabinets and coffins.
The assumption has always been that most of the products originating from Mbare are tailored for the lower end of the market, which usually does not fuss about the quality of the workmanship but the price.
Not anymore.
Unfortunate historical episodes in the past 26 years — from the disruptions in the job market caused by the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme in the 1990s, the sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union post-1999, and the July 2015 Supreme Court labour ruling — mean less and less people have been formally employed.
Not only have people lost jobs and salaries, they have also lost medical aid, funeral insurance and assurance and other such cover.
The result is a burgeoning informal sector that caters for just about every product and service imagineable.
However, for 34-year-old Ms Kuda Nyamudzanga, a Mbare-based carpenter who specialises in coffin making, the story is a little different.
She was not fired. Rather, she willfully traded her white nursing uniform for the blue overalls of her new trade as Mrs Nyamudzanga made the switch from making a living out of saving lives to making one from burying those who would have lost theirs.
Ms Nyamudzanga has been making coffins at her workshop for five years.
And while she doesn’t have the financial wherewithal to compete with big businesses, some of the major players now buy her products.
“Those that operate bigger funeral companies are difficult to compete with because they offer funeral policies, which help them attract more people.
“We could be competing well with the established firms if we were able to offer policies but customers fear that if they pay in instalments for their coffins, they would find us closed at some point.
“But the big funeral firms seem to feel the heat as they complain that our products are lowly priced. This has seen some of them coming to buy coffins from us so that they also cut costs,” said Ms Nyamudzanga.
She asserts that demand for her products is not driven by low prices, but by the quality of what she has to offer at low prices.
Mrs Nyamudzanga makes coffins for all income groups.
Where her skills fails her, especially in the manufacturing of caskets, she imports them from South Africa for deep-pocketed clients.
With virtually no training, Ms Nyamudzanga says hers is a “gift inherited from her father”.
“I didn’t go to college to learn the skills of the trade; I inherited the gift from my father who started this business in the 1970s but has now retired and is living in the rural areas.
“I trained as a nurse but later realised that carpentry offered better returns and I quit nursing. I now have five years in this business.”
Her coffins range in price from US$150 to US$300, though these can be negotiated “because we understand that we don’t have much money”.
As the illiquid market bites, business is currently low.
Ms Nyamudzanga sells between eight and 10 coffins per week, while on a good day — which will not be so good for her grieving clients — she can sell three or four.
“But at times, we spend the whole day without selling anything. There was a time when business used to be good and we hope we would be back to those days because things are not so well at the moment,” she said.
Although the budding entrepreneur is a headache to some established business, she also has a headache of her own in the form of equally small businesses that do not have to contend with rentals and other overheads.
The competition operates from open spaces or under trees.
Ms Nyamudzanga pays US$450 per month in rentals, and she also has to care for her two children in boarding school.
Her business is made up of eight family members.
Some claim that small businesses are to an extent eating into the market that used to be a monopoly of big businesses.
Insurance industry regulator the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) recently reported that business in the funeral assurance sector has remained flat over the last 12 months.
Gross premiums written in the year ending December 31, 2015 only grew 2 percent to US$36,5 million from US$35,9 million a year earlier.
Net premiums written also climbed by a marginal one percent to US$36,5 million.
But there is concern that despite the potential shown by SMEs in the sector, there hasn’t been any targeted programmes from either Government or the non-governmental organisations to nurture them to improve their skills or organise their businesses to meaningful entities.
The majority complain about lack of working capital, suitable work sites and state-of-the-art tools.
This also hurts the economy as most are unregistered and do not contribute anything to the fiscus despite generating income.
Cunning retailers
Some retailers have identified opportunities offered by low-cost informal producers.
They make it their business to buy and resell products produced by these small-time entrepreneurs.
Mr Lawrence Chifamba (38) — who makes wardrobes, room dividers and beds — similarly does not have any tertiary education skills in carpentry.
But he says furniture shops frequent his workshop to buy his products for resale at higher prices.
“I have no formal schooling in the trade; I learnt the craft ‘on-the-job’. It’s seven years now since I started this business. We used to record brisk business until 2005 when demand for products started to fall,” said Mr Chifamba.
Despite being one of the suppliers of furniture products to some brick- and-mortar shops in town, Mr Chifamba says he cannot compete with them.
“We can’t compete with the established shops because they have a lot of money and we do not have. Our prices are low because at times we just want to get food, and the bigger retailers take advantage of that and buy from us and resell at higher prices.
“So, the bigger companies make more money from our products since they have the financial muscle and we do not have,” said Mr Chifamba, who works with his colleague Mr Noah Chitsiku (27).
The duo sells four-door wardrobes for US$160, room dividers for US$120 and beds for US$100. Again, prices are negotiable.
Being a predominantly cash business, the new directive by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board that requires all tobacco farmers to receive proceeds from tobacco sales from their bank accounts has significantly hurt businesses such as Mr Chifamba’s.
“Business is very low these days; there is no money. In the past, we would be making a lot of time from tobacco farmers but customers are not coming this year, I do not know what is happening,” said Mr Chifamba.
The new trend where small businesses are increasingly eating into the turf of big businesses is being replicated across other sectors.
Some SMEs have honed their activities into a fine art, and are giving reputable companies, including those listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, a run for their money.
Low-cost producers of products such as ready-to-drink beverages, spirits, bottled water, doors and window frames are gnawing at the margins of established manufacturers.
Experts contend that the illiquid market presents an opportunity for small businesses to win customers over.
Many consumers are now discernible customers who are well aware of the value of money.
This has, as a result, bred fierce competition between formal traders and informal traders for the hearts and wallets of consumers.
