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SWEPT by the economic tide that has hit the Zimbabwean economy since around 2000, numerous high-flying indigenous entrepreneurs who were the country's flag-bearers for black economic empowerment have sunk into oblivion after their businesses spectacularly failed or collapsed.
Many local businesspeople who carved out a niche for themselves in the 1990s as leading entrepreneurs in various sectors of the economy such as telecommunications, finance, including banking, transport and manufacturing have failed to last the distance after benefitting from the liberalisation of the economy and government empowerment policies, entailing patronage.
Their demise has been blamed on lavish lifestyles, the harsh economic environment, cheap imports, unavailability of long-term credit and poor policies by the government as well as mismanagement and corruption.
There is widespread belief that if these businesses had flourished, they could have helped ease the country's unemployment crisis, added much-needed revenue to the fiscus, as well as contribute to Zimbabwe's economic growth.
Official statistics released by government last year show that more than 4 600 companies shut down since 2011, resulting in the loss of more than 55 400 jobs.
When the economy was liberalised in 1991 through government's Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (Esap), a new crop of indigenous entrepreneurs emerged and formed organisations such as the Indigenous Business Development Centre (IBDC) to push black empowerment.
IBDC was established in December 1990 to help broaden indigenous participation in the mainstream economy. Its objectives were to work towards achieving sustainable economic growth and stability, expand the economy and create employment opportunities, mainly through the promotion of small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
This platform created a solid foundation of success for a group of entrepreneurs such as Mutumwa Mawere, Nicholas Vingirayi, Shingi Mutasa, Delma Lupepe, Daniel Shumba, Ben Mucheche, Nigel Chanakira, Chemist Siziba, Strive Masiyiwa, James Makamba, Jane Mutasa and the late Roger Boka, among others.
Another organisation, the Affirmative Action Group (AAG) was formed in 1994 out of frustration by young black businesspeople who included the late Peter Pamire and Philip Chiyangwa over what they described as the IBDC's failure to bring...