PAST COVID-19 REALITIES

“We learnt during the pandemic that an organization or business is not authenticated by brick and mortar or having physical buildings.

Mrs Melissa Mwale Chiyangwa, C.EO and Founder of Messe Inc

March 2020 may not be easily erased from many people's mind.

“This is the month that saw the “earth stand still” as most countries in the world imposed stringent socio-economic lockdowns, including travel and business restrictions in a bid to contain the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus commonly known as COVID-19.

For example, business hours were significantly reduced from the normal 8 am-10 pm period to 8 am- 3 pm. In fact, some informal traders and entrepreneurs were forced to shut down with only well-established and multinational companies allowed to operate under strict trading hours.

However, for Melissa Mwale- Chiyangwa, the COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity to tackle and seize these hard realities and turn them into opportunities to grow her business. Chief Executive Officer of Messe Foundation or Messe Inc – a local online lifestyle store that offers digital innovative solutions for Africa – saw the advent of the virus as a conduit to embrace the digital world and “expand wings”.

“The pandemic challenged minds and brought about the deep conversation of what the future of work looks like,” Mwale-Chiyangwa said in an exclusive interview with iShaH.“We learned during the pandemic that an organization or business is not authenticated by brick and mortar or having physical buildings. There are quite a lot of online services that have since proved to be essential and offer a great quality of service and www.messeinterior.com is one of them.”

But how exactly did Mwale- Chiyangwa and her company Messe Inc take advantage of the hard realities of the COVID-19 pandemic where people were under strict lockdowns and encouraged people to work from home?

IM: What influence did the Covid-19 Lockdown bring to the way businesses delivered services to their customers ?

MC: “The pandemic accelerated or fast tracked the need for online services because people were on mandatory lockdowns and yet still needed services and products,” she said. “E-commerce businesses experienced massive growth in terms of customer base and sales.”As a result of this massive online marketing becoming the main business marketing element, “COVID-19 had a positive impact on the growth of businesses to adapt to the technological era and doing business was no longer restricted within one’s borders.”

IM: What would you advice to fellow young entreprenuers, now that we past covid-19 harsh lockdowns?

MC: I urge the youth to embrace information communication technology, saying technology is a good source of employment for the youth”

“New technologies are also a good source of employment and young people should now focus on investing in those skills to match the current requirement through the development of these new technologies,” she said.

IM: How did you become a young woman in business? Take us through your business start up stages..

MC: What inspired me at first to start this business was financial freedom and time, but along the way I have realized building this business is no longer about me but changing the narrative of services and products in Zimbabwe “In fact, the story of my entrepreneurial journey began when I was 19 years old as an undergraduate enrolled at Midlands State University. At the time, I lived off an allowance of US$150 from my elder brother. I used US$50 to buy my foodstuffs and invested the remaining US$100 towards buying recharge cards to resell to college students.”

She said this business managed to sustain her throughout her college life, and after she graduated, she diversified into second-hand clothes.

“After completing my first degree I got an internship at one of the local power companies, but I still continued my business of secondhand clothes.”

Being an entrepreneur at heart, Mwale-Chiyangwa continued with her entrepreneurial journey. However, her main aim was to make a positive impact on sustainable development in Africa.

Melissa Mwale Chiyangwa receiving an award at the Zimbabwe CEO Network awards ceremony

Award for outstanding women leading in the front 2022

IM: S h a r e the impact that Messe Inc has on female entrepreneurship in Africa.

MC: “The overall impact for Messe Foundation has been positive, though we are growing at a slower pace than I had anticipated, we have had significant growth and impact through the females who have participated in our programmes” she said. “We do hope in the future to have more partnerships and grow our platform to be able to give more access to African female entrepreneurs, access to skills development, personal development, entrepreneurship knowledge and funding to grow their business beyond the African continent.” On if entrepreneurship is an area that is increasingly attracting young people to venture into, she said entrepreneurship is no longer a choice but more of a way of life.

IM: Advice to fellow women in business?

M C : “The advice I will give to young African women who would like to become entrepreneurs is always be committed, always be disciplined because it’s not every day that you will feel motivated but even when you don’t feel like it, even when the odds are against you, show up! Never fear asking for help and don’t be afraid to fail, learn from your failures and start all over again until you get it right.”

“Sharing the African story to international investors made my dream more tangible. I believe in creating solutions for Africa that work for Africa instead of duplicating the West and being given such a platform served to cement the drive I have for Africa,”

IM: Locally whats your take on entrepreneurship?

M C : Entrepreneurship is increasingly attracting young Zimbabweans. However, I have seen as though in Zimbabwe it is no longer a matter of choice for one to be an entrepreneur or venture into whatever kind of business, it is now a way of survival,” she said. Mwale-Chiyangwa said various factors have contributed to this trend including the rising unemployment rate that has forced many young Zimbabweans into entrepreneurship. “I strongly believe that entrepreneurship should be strongly pushed by the passion for change and innovation rather for ones need to survive,” she added.

What is Messe Inc? MESSE FOUNDATION or Mess Inc is a local online lifestyle store that offers digital innovative solutions for Africa. The company has several subsidiaries including Messe Designs and Interior. www.messedesignsandinterior.com