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Leroy Dzenga Features Writer
Thomas Masiya from Harare is an acclaimed designer who has worked with multiple brands on the local scene. His company, Spectrumworx has been commissioned to work on corporate logos and designs by companies of varying portfolios.

The ambitious and creative Masiya (30) has had his goals clear from a young age, despite being orphaned.

For more than a decade, their company has been morphing into a visible player in graphic design, website development and software engineering.

“I am an award-winning designer and technopreneur with a reckless disregard for failure. I own a small design studio in Harare, Zimbabwe. Almost every successful clothing, make-up and beauty business has gone through my hands regarding branding, social media strategy and website development. Maybe you would easily recognise brands like Post, Jan Jam, Vault Cosmetics and the Derby Cheryl Spa,” he said.
His growing studio, which employs four permanent staffers and one intern, is a result of ambition assorted with ingenuity.

“I never really had any privilege in my life, but I managed to train myself into the designer I am today. I bought myself my first desktop by gathering up the sand and silt that is found in trenches after the rains and sold seven tonnes to a local merchant. I was 18 at the time,” said Masiya.
Consistency and hard work have seen him win gongs in his field of speciality.

“I got an award for Young Business Executive of the year (2011), Young Entrepreneur of the year (2013), Design Agency of the year (2013) and Best use of Pocket Media 2015,” he said.

Instead of decrying challenges like most youthful entrepreneurs, Masiya uses his improvisation as his compass to navigate the local business space.

“The operating field in Zimbabwe has been pretty fair, that is because I am a great strategist and can easily innovate. It might just have been better if there had been easier ways to get funding for the 24, ready business ideas that I would have loved to action, but never got a chance to put them into effect because they need cash injection,” he said.

As a panacea to funding challenges faced by many youths in business, Masiya suggests a tactful approach which can minimise loss of capital.

“Financiers need to give funding in tiers, as they see the result of certain work done from funding pools. I am currently working on bringing in a machine that will cost me $40 000 and for that amount no bank would even consider me. If in another country, they might have considered funding me towards that endeavour,” said Masiya.

Masiya believes the future of the country is in how it cultures fresh ideas. He believes more jobs can be created if creative concepts like coding are taught from the grassroots.

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