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TAKE spanners, picks and shovels. That’s preparation for really hard work. Work for very strong men.
But Naomi Nyanhi will tell you that the tools are not only about hard work; they can prepare a solid foundation for success.
It was the hard and dirty work that set the momentum for her successful business venture that she now runs.
About 15 years ago, she survived on moulding bricks but now she is the president of a round table for businesswomen under the name Zimbabwe’s Round of Anointed Women (Zimraw). She also runs a lucrative spare parts shop along Kaguvi Street.
The street is well known for the hassles that go with automobile business.
It is a busy street where getting parking space is always a challenge while succumbing to raw deals is forever the risk.
But Nyanhi is one of the few women that managed to penetrate the male-dominated automobile business.
BBC Bearings is the company that she runs.
She has seen the bad and the ugly of the business deals along Kaguvi Street yet the hive of activity that many loath about this street is the womb that bore her success.
She has always been an adventurous woman who sees no gender barriers in everything that she does.
I mentioned BBC Bearings! It has nothing to do with the British news channel but still when spelt out the name might sound awkward — Brick Baking Company.
Now, what is the relationship between bricks and bearings?
“When I started all this, it was a brick moulding company. Besides moulding bricks, I used to supply raw building materials like river sand and pit sand,” she narrated.
“That was how it all began. My husband was a teacher and he would join me in the venture during weekends.
“I was actually the first woman to go to that area near Mabvuku where pit sand is dug out.
“It was not easy at first because the guys that operated on the site had never worked with a woman.”
Nyanhi described how she would see the guys clad only in their underwear in addition to having to bear with their vulgar language.
“They were at liberty to say anything even the most vulgar words in Shona.
“They were used to that because they had never had any women clients before.
“It was a challenging time for me because I grew up in a Christian family.
“I would sit behind the sand trucks to avoid them but they got used to my presence with time.
“Every time they behaved well, I would leave them some money as tips.
“Within a month, we were used to each other and they would quickly put on their trousers and abandon dirty talk as soon as they saw my trucks arriving. It was a major breakthrough for me.”
For about four years, she ran that business until she supplied a client who sold bearings along Kaguvi Street.
Her passion for success saw her trying a hand in selling bearings and that move proved to be the proverbial turning point in her life.
She initially juggled between bricks, sand and bearings until she realised that the last was the most rewarding financially.
For the purposes of history and background, she kept the name Brick Backing Company when she dumped the building sector in 1996.
Since then, the automobile industry is her source of life. The success has seen her being elected Zimraw president.
With her husband now working in South Africa, she can boastfully reveal that she does not have a problem meeting her three children’s daily needs.
At Zimraw, it is just about overseeing money making rounds.
The round table brings together about 200 women from various business sectors and they take turns to lend each other money.
They host two parties every weekend where a selected beneficiary gets money from all the other members.
One can get an average of $6 000 on her turn of receiving money and many have bought fridges, sofas, cars and stands among other properties through the programme.
Zimraw has four divisions — group A to D — and each group has about 50 members.
Groups A and B meet every weekend at restaurant in the CBD while the other two groups have moved to other venues out of the city centre.
At their parties, one can hear names like Blooming Roses, Progressive, Rise and Shine, Amazing Grace, Wise Women, Sunshine and Prestige among others. Such are the names of the groups.
When Standardplus visited one of their weekend parties, it was a game of splashing money and having fun every moment.
It is always fun-filled yet pregnant with a serious idea of women empowerment.
BY GODWIN MUZARI
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