Campaign Story

This Fund is setup to ensure we tackle the business informal sector in Zimbabwe by developing and assisting entrepreneurs and small business owners within the informal sectors.

It is a question of ensuring that, after the victory over the virus, we do not come up against the desolate socio-economic landscape left by wars. Economic reconstruction must therefore be preventive rather than reactive, and all efforts must be made in that direction. “Governments, the private sector and development institutions must now duplicate and expand existing efforts to safeguard economies and livelihoods across Africa.

Most African countries are ill-equipped to respond to this pandemic. This is the meaning of the recent WHO warning that Africa must “prepare for the worst”.

The health crisis will have a terrible economic impact. The blow to economies was already evident even before the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Africa.

The news in Africa, as elsewhere, changes daily in terms of statistics5 of the number of people infected by the virus6 , but it also gives rise to news of an economic nature that is quite relevant.

“The best advice for Africa is to prepare for the worst and prepare for it today,” said World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyes in reference on the entry of the coronavirus in that region of the world.

These diseases are directly related to many of the problems that the African continent suffers, such as famine, poverty, lack of education (which also includes sex education), water shortage and contaminated or undrinkable water.

African peoples live outside and use the house only to sleep at night. To ask an African to stay at home is to ask for a whole change in their way of life. The challenge is so great that usually people’s houses (except those of the wealthy) are small and do not have space to stay for a long time. There is no refrigerator to store food, no bathrooms to shower and relieve yourself, no indoor kitchen, no wifi for entertainment, etc. Everything is done outside and often in a communal way2.

IF YOU DONT GO OUT, YOU DONT EAT!

This is the fact of the matter at the end of the day and we as a foundation are tackling this head on by assisting small businesses in the informal sector of Zimbabwe.

The Reality:

Sub-Saharan Africa’s COVID-19 cases are rapidly increasing, and it is the region least equipped to save lives while maintaining the economy and employment. As governments in the region try to stop the spread, they face at least four major challenges:

First, health systems, already rudimentary, cannot cope with the sudden increase in the number of patients.

Second, since the region’s workforce is largely composed of workers who depend on daily wages, a total blockade is tantamount to starvation.

Thirdly, these countries do not have the money to supplement the income of their citizens if public and private sector employees do not show up for work. Nor can SSA governments save the private sector from total collapse if companies have to cease operations for months.

Fourth, the closure of international borders would mean that SSA could neither export the raw materials on which it depends nor attract tourists who constitute substantial capital inflows. This is also true for foreign direct investment. In other words, the economies of African countries could soon come to a standstill.

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Considering the average Zimbabwean is living off less than $0.50 per day every dollar contribution helps!