Ngoni Dapira
THE country’s leading annual business honorary awards, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) awards, for the Manicaland chapter will be held tomorrow (Friday) evening at Holiday Inn Mutare.

The venerated awards that honour and recognise outstanding companies and business excellence exhibited by businesspeople in the province throughout the year will return this year after a one-year hiatus in 2020 due to the severity of the covid-19 global pandemic.

Ken Chitando

The Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution Nokhuthula Matsikenyeri will preside over the ceremony whilst the guest of honour will be the recently appointed managing director of the Agricultural Finance Company (AFC) Commercial Bank, formerly Agribank, Ken Chitando. Chitando a reputable banker and former founding managing director of the National Building Society (NBS) was appointed at AFC Commercial Bank effective of 1, September.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa in April rebranded Agribank to AFC Holdings. AFC Holdings has four subsidiaries namely, AFC Commercial Bank, AFC Insurance, AFC Land and Development Bank and AFC Leasing Company. The new institution is expected to provide funding across the whole agriculture value chain from communal to large-scale farmers.

ZNCC Manicaland and Chiredzi regional manageress, Ms Perpetual Guwila said this year’s theme will be, “Managing Disruptive Change.” She said this year’s awards will have only 14 awards categories tailor made to complement the volatile times we are living under the global covid-19 pandemic that has changed the ordinary way of life for business and people in general. The traditional awards for rural businessman of the year and young entrepreneur of the year have been shelved.

The 14 awards categories this year are: Sustainable Development Goals Award in light of the covid-19 pandemic, Innovation Award, Employer of the Year, Best Emerging Business of the Year, Businessman of the Year, Businesswoman of the Year, Customer Service Centred Organisation of the Year, Outstanding Media Person Focusing on covid-19 and its impact on Business, Agricultural Exporter of the Year, Manufacturing Exporter of the Year, Mining Exporter of the Year, Excellence in Urban Local Government Award, Excellence in Rural Local Government Award and the Entrepreneurial Resilience Award.

“We are very excited to be hosting the prestigious awards again after failing to do so last year due to the covid-19 pandemic. It has been a difficult operating environment and still remains unpredictable but we should remain faithful which is why we chose the theme ‘Managing disruptive change’,” said Guwila.

She said the ZNCC Manicaland chapter was this year robbed of its past president Kenneth Saruchera who was very instrumental when organizing awards each year and a special tribute will be made in his honour. The late Saruchera who was the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) Manicaland region director and the Zanu-PF provincial (Manicaland) secretary for administration as well as a businessman passed on mid-July after a long ailment but reportedly eventualy succumbed to covid-19 related infections.

The last edition of the business awards in 2019 saw the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) distribution company Mega Market emerge as the biggest winner of the evening after it scooped the Outstanding Investment award whilst its director Muhammed Shiraan Ahmed reclaimed the Businessman of the Year award which he once received in 2016.

The Businesswoman of the Year went to Patience Maruni of the real estate development company KMP Holdings whilst a former teacher, Chipo Chitowa from Mutasa District scooped the Rural Businessman of the Year with Knowledge Murigwa of Blutech Technologies walking away with the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. The Lifetime Achievement Award that was posthumous went to Hlanganiso Matangaidze.

The late Matangaidze received a befitting recognition given his vast contribution to the growth of the business landscape in the province as a national ZNCC past president in 2014 and proactive businessman that served in various public bodies including being a City of Mutare special councilor at one point.

The other provinces, Harare, Bulawayo and Midlands held their awards in October. The provincial winners will be compete for the national titles of Businessman and Businesswoman of the Year.