Student Entrepreneurs' Opportunity to Shine

Munyaradzi Shadaya

It is my honor and pleasure to feature this week an inspiring gentleman (in every sense of the word) whom I have known for the past few years. Munyaradzi is one of those people that you talk to and you just can't help thinking, "This is a wise young lad!" He was awarded the Global Student Entrepreneur Award (GSEA) in 2009 and
was appointed to serve as GSEA Regional Ambassador for Africa. He still serves in this capacity.

Munyaradzi has co-authored a book entitled "Turning Risk Into Reward" where he writes about his business venture that landed him the award and opened avenues that most entrepreneurs only dream of. He is the founder and chairman of Impetus Global Limited, a consultancy company.

I have often been of the opinion that we have brilliant young people in Zimbabwe who just do not have access to information and the objective of this interview is to amplify information with the hope that another brilliant young student entrepreneur somewhere will stumble on this interview and make the most of it!


What is GSEA?

GSEA IS A PROGRAM THAT HONORS COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WHO OWN AND RUN A FOR-PROFIT BUSINESS, AT THE SAME TIME AS JUGGLING THE PRESSURE OF THEIR STUDIES. EACH YEAR, GSEA HOLDS NATIONAL COMPETIONS, AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONS WILL CONVERGE AT THE THEMATIC GSEA GLOBAL FINALS TO STAND A CHANCE TO WIN OVER $150000 IN PRIZES. THE PROGRAM IS RUN GLOBALLY BY THE ENTREPRENEURS ORGANISATION (WWW.EONETWORK.ORG). 

How did you get to know about GSEA?

It was a miracle. I read a newspaper article in a Saturday Herald Article on a partnership that had been struck between Zimbabwean and South African youth entrepreneurship organizations. Being a young student entrepreneur, I was thrilled to locate them and get involved with their programs. In searching for them over the internet, I failed to get any online data on their activities, nor their location. Instead, I only managed to get directed to www.gsea.org. That’s when my journey with the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) begun.

What did the participation add to you?

Life changing! My involvement with the GSEA was first thrilling! I got to present my business before CEOs and Entrepreneurs running successful multimillion dollar companies from all over the world…and I did all this when I was still a university student. I got tremendous exposure, a total mind shift and a good idea of how business runs globally. I have been harvesting good business rewards from networks I created during all my visits to the US on related missions. GSEA has also allowed me to serve my good country and continent, through planting and growing the GSEA vision in Africa in my role as Regional Ambassador.

Through my involvement, I have come to realize more the gifts that God has given me in my youth, and even more, how relevant such gifts are in bringing Him glory as I serve the nations.

What do you do now?

I am still an entrepreneur with interests in pharmaceutical distribution, marketing and business consultancy and business development especially in the mining sector.

To what would you attribute your success towards?

God my heavenly Father. I have had an incredibly busy youth….I mean my career started at 18 and has never been idle since then. I have had dreams, and some have come true. I have fallen and risen several times. I have prevailed where I should have failed. I have had honor given me when I thought of myself as too young and insignificant, yet was given me anyway. I surely have no credit in all this but boast only of the One who gives all good and perfect gifts. God, my Heavenly Father has granted me all such Grace, through other people, miraculous interventions, wisdom, and knowledge among many other ways.

Is there a single thing that you wish all young and aspiring business people knew that would make their success even more likely?

Risk! I realize that our dreams, hopes and aspirations demand of us to become alive to the existence of uncertainties. We need to be bold, take a leap of faith (confronting risk).  The one who exercises more faith in taking on risk, stands a better chance in magnitude of success than the one who only seeks comfort in what is scientific and carrying less risk.

How can other student entrepreneurs also participate in GSEA?

All they have to do is visit our website at: www.gsea.org and proceed to “nominate” themselves for the award. Once they give us their details, we will automatically send them an application form which will be key in considering the respective student(s) for their respective national competitions. Further information and reviews will be communicated as the process proceeds.