Little CEOs, Big Dreams: Kids Turn Hustle Into Business at Harare Expo

By Mpundu Valerie

Small tables. Big ideas. Confident pitches.

That was the scene at a recent outdoor business expo in Harare, where children traded perfumes, juices, peanut butter, cakes, lotions and motivational T-shirts while learning some of the lessons of entrepreneurship along the way.

The expo was organised by Young Kid Entrepreneurship Zim, a club founded in 2024 by Aunty Shalom to nurture children's interest in business and help them develop entrepreneurial skills from an early age. "Initially I didn't read much into this, not until my daughter mentioned her proceeds would go to charity. As a parent, I felt moved and challenged to do better, hence reaching out to other children who shared the same idea," she said.

What started as a small club has grown into a mentorship space where children meet once or twice a month, virtually and in person, to learn how to run their small businesses. Over the years, the club has also travelled to different countries to learn and exchange ideas on how junior business programs operate.

We caught up with a few of the kids exhibiting on the day, boy, were we taken to school. Tamar Kunashe Muchineuta, 13, who runs Tamar Fragrance, said she sells perfumes driven by a passion to help the less privileged. Joyline Mazemo, 11, CEO of Joluxe Brands, sells baobab juice, pine gel and peanut butter. "I aim for my proceeds to go to the less privileged," she said.

Nicole Makaranga, 11, was selling motivationally branded T-shirts. "My t-shirts inspire us to always be kind and confident. I want to help my peers to be confident so they are not bullied," she said. For Havillah Timire, 11, it was her first time selling. She was showcasing hand lotions, saying she believes a woman's beauty is defined by her skin and the need to take care of it.

Kupakwashe Murandah, 13, trading as Cake Dynamite, described himself as a professional cake engineer specializing in birthday, wedding, and anytime cakes. The young entrepreneurs at the expo were only a few of the children taking part in the programme.

What stood out was not simply the range of products on display, but the confidence with which the children presented them.

They were answering questions, explaining their products, discussing their motivations and learning how to interact with potential customers. For Young Kid Entrepreneurship Zim, that appears to be part of the bigger lesson. Entrepreneurship at a young age can provide children with opportunities to develop communication, creativity, confidence, responsibility, and problem-solving skills while learning the basics of running a business.

And as the young exhibitors demonstrated in Harare, sometimes the biggest business ideas can come from the smallest tables. For these little CEOs, the hustle is already underway, and so are the dreams.

Young entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe