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A 24-year-old Zimbabwean entrepreneur Samuelle Dimairho, who recently returned to the country from the US, received the Global Student Entrepreneurs Award 2015 from the Entrepreneurs Organisation at an event held at the Capital Hilton Hotel in Washington DC USA on April 17 2015. Mr Dimairho was selected as a global finalist to receive this award from a pool of over 2 000 applicants globally based.

Each global finalist made a pitch to a panel of judges, for a chance to win the overall global champion award.

He was also in the top five student entrepreneurs worldwide to be featured in an exclusive media article by the Inc magazine on business competitions. Samuelle has started two successful business so far while pursuing part time studies with Oxford Brookes University through distance learning.

Mr Dimairho entrepreneurial journey started in 2008 when he was 17 years old, after dropping out of high school when he had completed O-Level exams.

At the height of hyperinflation, he had a dream of automating the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. All the hard work and effort paid off when he co-founded Zimbabwe’s first central securities depository, Chengetedzai Depository Company Limited.

To date Chengetedzai has over $1,2 billion worth of securities under deposit and has cleared and settled over $200 million of ZSE traded transactions.

Chengetedzai has grown to become the second largest financial institution, by financial value under deposit. Mr Dimairho is a shareholder of this company and is represented on the Board of Directors. In addition, Mr Dimairho co-founded Aura Group and is its current managing director. The company is a software solutions, systems integration, mobile commerce and telematics service provider.

Mr Dimairho’s led Aura Group to be the first company in Zimbabwe to introduce a GPS tracking and fuel monitoring system in Zimbabwe that is empowering fleets to save up to 30 percent in fuel costs, which translates to hundreds of thousands of dollars saved for transport and logistics companies.

Zimbabwean GSEA Ambassadors that were part of the panel comprising 82 judges were Munyaradzi Shadaya, Paidamoyo Zisengwe, Nyarai Kutumba, Wilson Kutumba and Justin Machibaya.

Mr Dimairho who is an entrepreneur by day and pursues his studies at night has demonstrated that the youth in Zimbabwe need to work hard in order to realise the benefits from the opportunities the economy has to available.

He said, “The problems and challenges we face in Zimbabwe are not unique and every country in the world has gone through them in one way or another.

“Where problems abound are where the most opportunities are also. The opportunities in Zimbabwe lie in solving the problems our society faces.

“Our country possesses many educated people and if we all work together, we can improve our country’s global reputation in commerce.”

He is part of the team of leaders at the Oneness Development Centre in Harare, which is a social enterprise aimed at equipping graduates with skills to become globally competitive through leadership training and skills development workshops at the Graduate Development Agency.

The organisation is also a platform for mentoring young people with business ideas and providing them with resources and training to make their ventures a success through Young Entrepreneurs Sanctuary Africa.

“Collaboration and a sense of community is important for a country to prosper. We need to have a sense of ‘otherness’ to develop our country. Most first world countries have managed to become powerful just by mastering this simple principle. If all join hands and work together to make our businesses the best in the world, we will all succeed in the process,” he said.

When asked about the importance of business competitions he said, “I started my first formal business in Zimbabwe when I was 17 years old. From the onset, I found it was critical to acquire knowledge from diverse sources and advisers.

“As I crossed the local and international boundaries, I realised that there can be many different perspectives about your business from others in various fields.

“To that end, business competitions are essential because they provide an opportunity for one to be exposed to a variety of judges who have these varying backgrounds and knowledge. You don’t need to win because the feedback you receive is priceless.”

Mr Dimairho believes that Zimbabweans have the capacity to be global leaders in entrepreneurship and innovation within the next 5-10 years.

The youth are the leaders of tomorrow and he said, “All the young professionals and entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe should seek to learn practical skills and have mentors that they learn from in their journey. Samuelle has been mentored by prominent businessmen and professionals.

“I have learnt a lot from numerous mentors in my entrepreneurial career. They are all too many to mention by name but Luxon Zembe, whom I connected with from childhood in the Seventh Day Adventist Church we fellowship together, Andrew Mugandiwa, Nikhil Bhulabhai, Anthony Kates, Valentine Sinemani and Moffat Chikuni have been key contributors to the success I have achieved so far.

“We should learn from the successes and experiences of the older generation whom we have a lot to learn from. They have prepared the way for our generation to prosper and we should not let them down,” he said.

“Entrepreneurship is a journey that takes a long time. Young people should not be deceived by thinking economic activity that makes them a quick buck is the way to go. True entrepreneurship means innovation and having a long term perspective to the business you engage in.”

“I am honoured to have represented Zimbabwe on the global scene and shown the world that Zimbabweans are as equally sharp as others in first world countries. This accolade also enabled me to network with an exclusive group of influential business owners. Many uninformed people have a negative perspective to our country and it is up to us to correct these perceptions,” he said.

The GSEA is the premier global award for high school, undergraduate and graduate student entrepreneurs from more than 40 countries worldwide. Built on a mission to inspire students to start and grow entrepreneurial ventures, GSEA brings global visibility to pioneering student business owners.

Since 1998, the GSEA, a programme founded at the John Cook School of Business at Saint Louis University, has honoured outstanding students who simultaneously attend university full-time while running their own businesses.

The Entrepreneurs’ Organisation took on leadership of the GSEA in 2006 to offer student entrepreneurs access to a global network of mentors, resources and connections from the most influential community of entrepreneurs in the world.

The Entrepreneurs’ Organisation is a global, peer-to-peer network of more than 10 000 influential business owners with 142 chapters in 46 countries, whose combined companies generate over $560 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1987, EO is the catalyst that enables leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow, leading to greater success in business and beyond.