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George Maponga in Masvingo
For Ms Gracious Shonhai, the sky is the limit as she continues to trail blaze on an entrepreneurial journey centred on goat farming in Mushandike Resettlement area, west of Masvingo City.

Today, the 26-year-old holder of a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Development Studies and a Master’s Degree in the same field, is now a renowned goat farmer and businesswoman.

Born the only girl in a family of four, Ms Shonhai has already bagged many awards, a bold statement of her intention to conquer the farming world.

Ms Shonhai has already managed to defy odds with her meteoric rise to the pinnacle of animal husbandry.

Gracious Goats, which is on a 10 hectares plot at Hockfale Farm is now home to over 200 hybrid goats and thousands of chickens.

The company employs six full-time and four contract workers from the surrounding communities, but for Ms Shonhai the motivation is to grow her goat-breeding business and enter the export market and help the country realise its Vision 2030 targets of making  Zimbabwe an upper middle income society.

Her burning passion to be the master of her own destiny was even noticed by GZU which awarded her a special certificate in recognition of her entrepreneurial skills in 2019 at the institution’s 13th graduation ceremony.

The certificate was presented to her by GZU Chancellor, President Mnangagwa.

Two years down the line, Gracious Goats continues to grow in leaps and bounds, an exploit rarely surprising considering her determination.

Recently she received mentorship from one of the country’s best goat growers, Dr Divine  Ndhlukula.

‘”She (Dr  Ndhlukula) looked for me after hearing about my story and put me through a two-week mentorship programme at her Zvikomborero Farm in Chivhu.

“She did this free of charge and it changed my life forever because the skills I acquired during that period have been the driving force behind my goals,’’ said Ms Shonhai.

GZU has also been helpful to its ex-student, drilling a borehole and donating hybrid goats to support her project.

“I wanted to be my own boss from the day Professor Zvobgo (GZU vice-chancellor) in one of his addresses to us during my stint as student said we should always aim to be our own bosses. He actually exhorted us to work hard and be able to achieve self-reliance, saying no one will ever do anything for us but ourselves. He said we must never be afraid to take on challenges and from that day, I was determined to be my own boss.”

Ms Gracious Shonhai receives a certificate awarded to her by the Great Zimbabwe University in recognition of her entrepreneurial skills from President Mnangagwa at the university’s 13th graduation ceremony in 2019

Ms Shonhai credits local financial institutions for giving her a head-start in her project together with her family that she says stood by her in the formative stages of her enterprise.

Besides looking for a bigger farm to expand her goat breeding project, Ms Shonhai says she requires more boreholes to supply adequate water while she was also looking forward to having her plot electrified.

“My plot is small, only 10 ha and I need more land so that I can expand my business. We are close to completing building of a hatchery and fowl runs that will accommodate a combined 6000 birds at Hockdale.

“While the current Covid-19-induced restrictions have had a negative effect to our operations, we have been supplying goat meat to hotels within Masvingo and beyond to earn income for our day-to-day operations,” she said.

Ms Shonhai has won the Outstanding National Young Female Goat Farmer of the Year (2018 and 2019) Award, sponsored by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement.

“To my fellow graduates particularly women, my challenge to you is that your destiny is in your hands. Now is the time to stand up and be counted. Rather than resting on your laurels, let’s all work hard in our various spheres and help unlock economic opportunities in our country and help achieve Vision 2030 goals,” Ms Shonhai added.

“My business roots are deeply anchored in my strong cultural beliefs of Ubuntu and ethics from my strong childhood upbringing.

“I have been taught the values of honesty, hard work, time management and personal financial management. I have learnt and cherished the values of building and establishing networks and learning from other business leaders like Dr Divine Ndhlukula, through mentorship. My daily motto is do not be afraid or be shy of your hustle. Never give up,” stressed Ms Shonhai.

Ms Shonhai believes woman entrepreneurs can be a vital cog in spurring national economic growth in line with Vision 2030.