services and products
Loan Access Facilitation and Management
Loan Access Facilitation and Management
Products Development and Processing
Products Development and Processing
Markets -Oriented Training & Advise
Markets -Oriented Training & Advise
About Us
The word Mkambo refers to market in isiNdebele language. It has the same connotation in the Shona language though in Shona, the word Musika commonly refers to the market One of the challenges facing Zimbabwean agriculture and rural development is lack of reliable, usable and timely information, evidence and knowledge for effective decision making. A significant part of the available information is either out-dated or dispersed in various institutions, people and environments. When projects and programmes by various NGOs, private sector players and other development organisations come to an end, in most instances, there is no clear mechanism for the knowledge that was gathered to be handed over and inform new initiatives. In addition, competition rather than collaboration among organisations in the same sector works against knowledge sharing.
"eMKambo has been working in Agricultural mass markets for more than 10 years and these markets take more than 70% of what is produced in Zimbabwe, that is, indigenous food like small grains, indigenous chickens, fresh produce etc. As eMKambo we monitor these markets to see what is going on there. There is need to form a department at government level that will monitor food to see where it is going, after it is produced.... "
Knowledge Transfer Africa and PELUM Zimbabwe held a Knowledge Café on the 9th of March 2023, to positioning Agroecology within existing Food markets and unpack the looming bumper harvest. Emerging issues from the food system were discussed including: How prepared are we as a nation to handle a bumper harvest? What is the relationship between agroecology and Pfumvudza, among other initiatives toward securing national biodiversity, diets and health? How do we consolidate investments in local food systems? Poor coordination from production to markets has, over the years, resulted in huge losses within the food system especially during and after bumper harvests.
Management Team
Charles Dhewa
Simba Murotwa
Clever Mukove
Tanyaradzwa Musariri
Latest news
Giving farmers, commodities and consumers a voice through market data
Some of the most powerful instincts about African agriculture and food systems are found only in territorial mass markets where the majority of smallholder farmers sell their commodities and the majority of low-income consumers get their food. That is why investment in data analyses is more important than collecting data for its own sake. Much Read more about Giving farmers, commodities and consumers a voice through market data[…]
Enabling communities to build their own markets fosters economic justice Most market infrastructure
Most market infrastructure built for vendors and low-income entrepreneurs in African countries end up abandoned due to lack of consultation – making the infrastructure less fit for purpose. In the spirit of fostering socio-economic justice, communities should be empowered to lead in building their own markets. Top-down solutions may be well-intentioned but people closest to Read more about Enabling communities to build their own markets fosters economic justice Most market infrastructure[…]
Poor policies give birth to several faces of informality-lessons from African cities
Street markets and informal settlements that are part of many African cities do not mean that Africans just enjoy disobeying authority and disregarding rules. In fact, politeness and respect are a fundamental part of Ubuntu and other values ingrained in Africans from birth. Such people-oriented values are extended to how people conduct their businesses and Read more about <strong>Poor policies give birth to several faces of informality-lessons from African cities</strong>[…]
Using sweet potatoes and stories to demystify nutrition, science
Using sweet potatoes and stories to demystify nutrition, science Had African policy makers, development agencies and nutritionists succeeded in embedding nutrition messages with the social fabric, malnutrition wouldn’t be high in African communities that are blessed with abundant and diverse food systems. By treating nutrition activities as sporadic news, the media has failed to make Read more about Using sweet potatoes and stories to demystify nutrition, science[…]
Continued innovation is difficult to sustain without consistent production
Fragmented production makes it difficult to sustain continuous innovation. When pumpkins are out of season, enterprises that make pumpkin juice and pumpkin-flavoured ice cream have to look for substitutes that may be more expensive. That is why every harvest requires tracking of supplies and prices in different markets. Such details can inform investment in food Read more about Continued innovation is difficult to sustain without consistent production[…]
Money, resilience, sustainability and growth is in mastering the details
Successful transition from primary production to industrialization requires serious attention to detail. Otherwise, it will be difficult for African countries to shift from subsistence farming, informal employment, and primary commodity production toward manufacturing and services. The way African mass markets deal with capabilities and expertise can provide useful lessons to policy makers on the value Read more about Money, resilience, sustainability and growth is in mastering the details[…]
Why agricultural inputs suppliers should rethink their business models
For decades, companies that sell seed, fertilizer, chemicals and other inputs have been more interested in increasing their sales volumes irrespective of whether those inputs change the lives of farmers or not. An increase in the number of companies selling the same products to the same farmers in many African countries is not only confusing Read more about Why agricultural inputs suppliers should rethink their business models[…]
Informality is an invitation for African universities and banks to do something with their knowledge
African universities and financial institutions haven’t done much to correct the negative perception and discourse about African mass markets and informality. An economic landscape in which smallholder farmers, artisans and traders have nurtured self-sufficient communities for decades cannot continue to be called informal and inferior. By now, African universities should have studied how these secondary Read more about Informality is an invitation for African universities and banks to do something with their knowledge[…]
Building world class market infrastructure or globalizing African products
Shopping malls are mushrooming across Africa but African policy makers are not ensuring that local products dominate those shopping malls. What is the point of building shopping malls that are full of Chinese products when African products are in the streets? On the other hand, the African continent has a lot of abandoned market infrastructure Read more about Building world class market infrastructure or globalizing African products[…]
The value of enhancing knowledge flows between formal and informal economies
In most African countries, the formal education system has not succeeded in creating conditions for knowledge to flow between different classes of economic actors and between the formal and informal economies. Consequently, the gap between formal and informal economic systems continues to widen as evidenced by how the informal economy fast becoming a secondary underground Read more about The value of enhancing knowledge flows between formal and informal economies[…]