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At home in her own space . . . Mirriam Sibanda chats to The Saturday Herald Lifestyle about her past, present and future

Ruth Butaumocho
Versatile is the best word that aptly describes recently elected chairperson of the Zimbabwe Women’s Football, Miriam Sibanda.
Sibanda is the chief operations officer with Twalumba Holdings, a company she owns and runs with her husband, Dr Nkululeko Sibanda.
They say it is a man’s world, but it would be nothing without such bold women who stop at nothing in making positive changes in their communities.

From being a journalist who spent the better part of her life chasing business executives for stories, Sibanda migrated from the media cohort.
Now she is among the news-makers sought after by journalists for interviews concerning the myriad of portfolios she now holds.

These include interests in civil engineering, printing and energy provision. She also sits on several boards and is in involved in a number of charitable projects in Binga. She is also immersed in Twalumba Holdings FC, the couple’s football team which is run professionally. That is where her love for the game and specific administrative skills have been nurtured.

With all that success under her belt and presumably more on the horizon, the biggest surprise is that for Sibanda, venturing into business was never her game plan. Unlike most magnates who claim to have had a vision then worked tirelessly to turn dreams into reality, for this phenomenal woman it was incidental to her philanthropic calling.

“While I was working as a journalist, I never thought that one day I would become a business executive running different strategic business units like what I am now doing.

“I was content in just being a journalist, going out to the rural areas, reporting on developmental issues,” recalls the affable Sibanda.
“My husband comes from a very deprived background, so he always wants to assist whenever he can.

“During one of our visits to Binga, we realised people needed recreational facilities to ease tension following a series of political problems that had affected the area. We resolved to look for funding for different sporting activities. But the doors were being shut in our faces from people and institutions that we thought could assist.

“No one was willing to fund a programme for charity. It dawned on us that the only way we would be able to fund the initiative was to venture into business,” she said. So the couple was forced to become innovative, and as the cliché goes, the rest is history.

Within a few months, they started a project of building low cost bridges and roads in and around Zimbabwe.
The business flourished but was not bringing in regular income, forcing the Sibandas to form other different strategic business units to ameliorate their financial situation.

They founded a traditional restaurant called Nungu and a driving school to add to the diverse businesses that made Twalumba Holdings.
Sibanda says they have since closed the two to give them ample time to focus on their major units.

“Running a restaurant and a driving school need close monitoring. But with different portfolios that we were running, it was becoming impossible to do everything, hence our decision to close the two,” said Sibanda.

She however says the couple will keep its eyes open for other business opportunities as part of their vision to grow the Twalumba Holdings brand.
“I believe in versatility, even in business and I am always looking for new opportunities. I don’t give up easily until I achieve the needed results and reach my goal,” she says

She is quick to point out that although the couple did not start life with entrepreneurial aspirations, they have had to cultivate all the other qualities necessary for business success like determination, vision, and the strength to take on responsibility and make tough calls.

She attributes her determination to a high degree of tenacity she acquired during her hey days in journalism, where she had to chase after very difficult and unrelenting sources for stories. “Being in business is not easy. You need to be really determined to achieve results, more so when you venture into business as a couple,”

Because of certain business fundamentals and like any other business partners, couples also disagree on business decisions. The problem is more pronounced among couples, and when that happens, Sibanda says she often has to back down on certain issues, not because she may be wrong, but as a way of buying peace in the home.

“It, however, becomes important to average it out, and I really find it workable to give in to ensure the smooth running of the business,” said Sibanda.

She however says despite the small glitches that occasionally occur on the business front, the family ties are still intact. The couple enjoys a healthy relationship, something she is grateful for.

“We do have hectic lives as a couple, but we always create time for family.
“Saturdays are usually spent preparing for the football team if the league is in session, but Sundays are usually set aside for family,” she said.
Apart from running Twalumba Holdings, tending to social events, the family and other pressing issues, she also finds time to reflect and rewind by knitting or engrossing herself in a good book.

A keen and avid reader for books written by African writers, she can gladly spend hours engrossed in any book from Chinua Achebe, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, Wole Soyinka and Charles Mungoshi.

Sibanda is currently reading NoViolet Bulawayo’s book, “We Need New Names”.
She however may soon find herself reading less, following her recent election victory which gives her the room to prove her mettle by taking women’s football to the next level.

Is she the woman who will go into the annals of history as having built on the strides made in the past six years in women’s football by turning it into a mainstream fan attraction rather than the sideshow it currently is?

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