The ManicaPost
Ngoni Dapira Business Correspondent
THERE is an old saying that necessity is the mother of all invention.
This adage prompted Mutare entrepreneur Mr George Sisimayi, who has started a social media platform on WhatsApp for selling commodities called MusikaMutare.
Mr Sisimayi said social media was now indispensable to many people in Zimbabwe as a means of communication, while its influence on the social fabric was also growing. He said in Zimbabwe and Africa in general, websites and online services have never been popular in executing business for Small to Medium Enterprises.
Mr Sisimayi said this was unlike WhatsApp which has proven to be a popular tool that most people are now using, whether in the city or rural areas, through the recent expansion of broadband and the advent of smart phones.
“I am trying to usher in Mutare and Zimbabwe at large the 21st century way of doing business through cost-effective means like WhatsApp.
“In Africa, our digital future and internet connectivity at household level is low and really failed to break through especially on the marketing side. Most consumers do not have computers and internet access in their homes.
“However, social media has beyond doubt proven to be a popular tool in our modern society with most people affording smart phones to access the service. I looked at the ‘Unoshaya kuti zvirikumbofamba sei’ saying that went viral via social media and realised this is a lucrative business platform people are not making use of for business,” said Mr Sisimayi.
Mr Sisimayi said MutareMusika would target the Mutare community at large.
He said he was currently growing his database of contacts on his WhatsApp and would put registration points around designated points to be advertised so that people write down their contacts to be part of the forum.
He said the whole point was to create an instant marketing platform for dealers to sell their wares rather than to just use social media for jokes.
“I am currently on a registration drive to increase my WhatsApp database of contacts in Mutare.
“Everyone on the database will receive messages of commodities on sale. The message will have a picture of the commodity, the prize, the shop or contact number of the seller,” he said.
On charges, Mr Sisimayi said as the administrator of the forum, he would charge $1 for every advert that is put out on his MusikaMutare WhatsApp service.
He said people could sell any type of commodity from clothes, cars, cell-phones and accessories, to mention a few.
On the contrary as social media continue to grow in popularity analysts have since proposed to authorities for the enactment of legislation to govern social media, which also has its negative effects if not regulated.
