24 Teams, One Church Hall: Zimbabwe, 2021

Two years before the Chitungwiza Hub reached 155 teams, the model was already producing results in Zimbabwe.

Context

In mid-2021, a cohort of 24 teams (72 young people, aged 17 to 33) ran the Youth-Led Changemaking Challenge out of The Salvation Army Marikopo Corps, facilitated by Pride Mhlanga, through the currency swings and COVID lockdowns of the time.

The Act of Trust

Teams received a trust-based investment and grew it across levels: $25 at Level 1, $50 at Level 2, repaying as they progressed. As everywhere, a team that made no profit owed nothing.

The Proof

From a $600 trust fund, the twelve teams that completed Level 2 generated $3,958.50 in revenue and $1,905 in profit, serving 3,117 people. Ten of the twelve turned a profit, and nine qualified to continue to Level 3. Two years later, Chitungwiza would show the same pattern at more than six times the size.

A Story

The strongest team was led by Kudzai Kaputa, whose venture alone produced $1,072 in revenue and $849.50 in profit, serving 478 customers. One team out-earned the seed capital of the entire cohort several times over.

What It Means for Institutions & Funders

This cohort is part of the through-line: 2021 in Marikopo, 2022 with House of Deliverance, and the Chitungwiza Hub from 2023 onward. Each round is modest on its own. Together they are the evidence that the model holds up, year after year, in one of the hardest economies in the world.