The British Council Zimbabwe recently hosted a Management Express Forum to give leaders a chance to exchange ideas and knowledge.

The speaker was Alexis Ferrand, an economic consultant for the Department of International Development in Zimbabwe, on the subject of ‘Clearing international areas and unsustainable debt negotiations’: lessons from other countries in Africa and Latin America.

Joseph Fungayi, manager of the Information and Learning Centre in Zimbabwe, says Ferrand’s talk was interesting as it was given at a time when Zimbabweans are expecting a new era of democracy in the country.

Fungayi hopes the inauguration of an inclusive government will open up the country to the international community and end its isolation.

‘We want make Management Express forums think-tanks for policy formulation for the socio-economic development of the country, while maintaining an apolitical stance. We need to facilitate more and meaningful interaction between the people of Zimbabwe, the region and the United Kingdom,’ says Fungayi.

Management Express (MEX) is a partnership between the British Council and a network of managers and leaders who are interested in improving their business practices.

For the past two years, MEX has been providing opportunities for rising business professionals to network with their peers and with industry leaders from African countries and the UK.

In recent years, it has been difficult to run programmes like MEX in Zimbabwe. High inflation and interest rates, poverty, the weak currency and the recent cholera outbreak have forced many Zimbabweans to leave their country and look for jobs elsewhere, and the same conditions have deterred speakers from visiting Zimbabwe to work with MEX.

‘It remains important that we have some input from UK professionals so there is a meaningful exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience between the two countries,’ said Fungayi in the press release marking the recent MEX meeting.

To make sure that Zimbabwean managers are not left in the dark, the British Council has been using local speakers to address forums.

The British Council creates opportunities through Management Express for leaders ‘to develop themselves professionally and personally’, says Fungayi.

‘To date about 1 000 people have attended the forums and we expect the numbers to grow as the political and economic environment changes positively.’

Past MEX participant Siyabonga Hlangabeza says the forum motivated him.

‘Most of the presentations challenged me to look at life positively, to believe in myself, to see that I can achieve more in life and to refuse to be average.’

Hlangabeza says the presenters challenged him to take advantage of the current difficulties and turn them into opportunities.

‘Nothing is impossible. I have since set new goals that I believe I can attain in the next 10 years.’

With so many calamities in the world it’s no wonder that many people tend to focus on the negative. But Hlangabeza says MEX taught him not to entertain excuses.

‘I used to think that I am now too old to start on any meaningful thing. I am only 35! But one of the presenters said that age is just a number. And surely 35 is not too old. My way of thinking drastically changed in this area of my life.’

Michael Mbewe, another Zimbabwean participant, says the forum increased the scope of his thinking.

‘MEX shook my mind and I found myself thinking in a way I had never thought before.’

Another participant, Clara Chimedza, says MEX enhanced her business management abilities.

According to the Management Express website the forum is open to anyone interested in improving their management knowledge and skills, and to managers who are keen to connect with other managers.

To attend a management forum near you visit this page. To read more about British Council events and programmes, please visit this page. Read our latest news here: News in Africa section.