Staff Writer

For years, the conversation around Zimbabwe’s young people has largely been framed around unemployment, limited access to finance and the difficulty of transitioning from education into the formal economy.

But the sixth edition of the Old Mutual Value Creation Challenge (VCC) is beginning to demonstrate that there is another, potentially more consequential, way of looking at the country’s youth: not merely as beneficiaries of economic development, but as innovators, entrepreneurs, employers and builders of the economy.

The growing interest in the programme provides an important indication of the appetite among young Zimbabweans to solve problems through enterprise.

Old Mutual Zimbabwe chief executive officer Samuel Matsekete said the programme received 1 130 applications this year, up from 725 in the previous edition.

More than half, 52 percent, came from outside Harare, suggesting that entrepreneurial ambition is not concentrated in the capital but is increasingly distributed across the country.

That growth in applications is significant and points to a generation that is increasingly prepared to experiment with business models, technology and new approaches to solving economic and social problems.

More importantly, it challenges the traditional assumption that young people primarily need jobs created by others.

Instead, the VCC is helping to cultivate the idea that some of the jobs of tomorrow will be created by young people who are themselves building businesses today.

“Entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful drivers of inclusive economic growth,” Mr Matsekete said.

The challenge, however, is ensuring that entrepreneurial enthusiasm translates into businesses that survive, scale and create meaningful economic value.

That is where the significance of the VCC extends beyond its competition format.

The programme, delivered through the Eight2Five Innovation Hub, is increasingly functioning as part of a broader entrepreneurial infrastructure, providing mentorship, business development support, skills, networks and access to potential markets and investors.

This distinction is important because the biggest obstacle facing many young entrepreneurs is not necessarily a shortage of ideas.

Zimbabwe has no shortage of ideas.

The more difficult question is how to transform those ideas into commercially viable enterprises.

A young innovator may develop an effective agricultural technology, financial solution or manufacturing product, but without business management skills, market access, capital, mentorship and appropriate networks, the idea can remain just that — an idea.

Mr Matsekete captured this challenge when he said the work of the Eight2Five Innovation Hub “extends beyond funding”.

“It is about building businesses that can scale, access markets and create sustainable value,” he said.

That represents an important shift in the way youth entrepreneurship should be approached.

For too long, entrepreneurship support has sometimes been associated with handing young people small amounts of capital and expecting them to build sustainable enterprises. While access to finance remains fundamental, money alone does not necessarily produce successful businesses.

Nanopath founder Mark Rukanda and co-founder Leona Nyoni, winners of the Emerging Industry Pillar, receive a US$10 000 prize cheque from Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training Minister Tino Machakaire (right) and Old Mutual Zimbabwe chief executive officer Mr Samuel Matsekete (far left) at the Old Mutual Value Creation Challenge (VCC) 6 Startup Pitch Finals and Awards Ceremony held in Harare on September 4, 2026.

 

A business requires customers.

It requires reliable suppliers, technology, management capabilities, appropriate regulation, skilled workers and access to networks. It also needs entrepreneurs who understand their markets and can adapt when conditions change.

The VCC’s evolution towards mentorship, business clinics, showcase events and connections with the private sector therefore provides a more comprehensive model of enterprise development.

Between February and April, Old Mutual conducted a nationwide business clinic tour covering 20 locations and reaching nearly 2 000 small business owners.

The company also expanded its engagement with tertiary institutions, including Bindura University of Science Education, Gwanda State University and Midlands State University.

These interventions matter because innovation ecosystems cannot be built solely in boardrooms in Harare.

If Zimbabwe is to broaden its economic base, entrepreneurial opportunities must reach young people in provincial towns, rural communities and tertiary institutions.

The fact that 43 percent of the Top 14 finalists are from outside Harare is therefore more than a statistic. It provides an indication that entrepreneurial potential exists well beyond the country’s traditional economic centres.

The same applies to gender inclusion.

Six of the 14 finalists are female-led enterprises, representing 43 percent of the finalists, compared with only 15 percent in the 2021/22 edition.

The improvement suggests that targeted platforms can help address some of the structural barriers that have historically limited women’s participation in entrepreneurship and innovation.

The challenge now is to ensure that inclusion at the competition and incubation stages translates into sustained participation in the economy.

This is particularly important given the country’s demographic structure.

Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training Minister Tinoda Machakaire said approximately 72,3 percent of Zimbabwe’s population is below the age of 35, with those aged between 15 and 35 accounting for 33,2 percent of the total population.

That demographic profile presents Zimbabwe with both an opportunity and a risk.

If young people are equipped with the skills, technology, capital and market opportunities required to become productive economic participants, the country’s youthful population can become a major source of economic growth.

If they remain excluded from meaningful economic participation, however, the same demographic reality can intensify unemployment and social pressures.

“This demographic reality presents us with a tremendous opportunity, but also an urgent responsibility,” Minister Machakaire said.

That responsibility is increasingly reflected in Government’s National Youth Empowerment Strategy 2026-2030, which places young people at the centre of national development.

The strategy is built around five pillars — economic empowerment; technology and digital transformation; education, skills development and training; governance; and health and wellbeing.

The VCC’s relevance lies in the fact that it intersects with several of these priorities simultaneously.

Minister Machakaire noted that the National Youth Empowerment Strategy specifically calls for the expansion of youth incubators, accelerators, innovation hubs, entrepreneurship support systems and access-to-finance mechanisms.

Why collaboration is becoming central to the VCC model.

Old Mutual’s partnerships with the British Council, British Embassy, SNV, Swiss Embassy, Zimbabwe Agricultural Development Trust and the UDUGU Institute demonstrate that no single institution can build a functioning innovation ecosystem on its own.

Government, business, academia, development partners and civil society each control different pieces of the puzzle.

For young innovators, bringing those pieces together can mean the difference between an idea that disappears after a competition and an enterprise that survives for years.

Minister Machakaire has already indicated where the next opportunities lie, including stronger links between innovation hubs and vocational training centres, greater youth participation in value chains, expanded mentorship networks, increased access to digital technologies and stronger support for businesses moving from incubation into sustainable growth.