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Banabasi Marambire’s book “The Herd Boy” is an inspirational book whose content applies to diverse socio-cultural and economic parameters, especially for those in the business sector. The book is grounded on the true story of an orphan who ascended to business glory through hard work.
It is a book whose principles and values directly speak to entrepreneurs. Banabasi Marambire’s story is a vivid life testimony that is inspirational and very emotional. However, the book legitimately cherishes and celebrates the spirit of hard work and undying perseverance regardless of the socio-economic and political circumstances that one may be facing.
“As soon as I finished my secondary education, the need for a job was a priority. It was now a do-or-die situation for me. An issue of either sink or swim. Unfortunately, as a young boy who was living in a village, there were no other opportunities available except for that “prime job” of mine hinted at earlier. The golden jobs for a person of my calibre by then were farm work and other menial jobs. A relative took me in as a farm worker but on a temporary basis, to clear up his new farm that he had acquired from the government. I worked at the farm for a month, it was backbreaking and gruelling. We would wake up early to cut trees, deracinate some, and in some cases remove the stumps. At that juncture, I was joined by a compatriot by the name of Wilson.
“The two of us devoured trees like lions in the jungle devouring their prey. We were given equal tasks and a stipulated time frame to complete the job. Complacency and unnecessary delay tactics were certainly not part of our Work ethos, we were cruising after time but above all, we wanted money. It took us the whole month to finish clearing a piece of land that was approximately 8000 square meters. We would have time to dream like other farm workers talking about how we wish to buy bicycles and radios. For me, all I spoke about was how I wanted to have a huge organisation, have many employees, and how I wanted to be the boss of my own company. Those around me would laugh at my outrageous dream and unrealistic vision. It was truly appalling for someone who had no shoes or just a simple radio and was busy working in the bush as a farm worker to think that way. However, I kept my dream real and alive and the fellows around me regarded me as a nutcase. Eventually, The Master came and we got our meagre wages and took a break since it was time for the Christmas holidays. The Christmas vibes were in the air,” Marambire recounts in the tale of his upbringing that was punctuated with hardships.
First published in 2020 by Beyond Today, the book cherishes the idea that education is important in our lives and is a cautionary note that attaining education alone does not guarantee anything.
It is how one uses both education and the mind that matters. Marambire’s story denounces the mainstream thought that failing in school means one will fail in life. The book registers that of course failure is experienced by everyone at some point, and that where possible it should be avoided and must also be perceived as a mere temporary setback rather than a permanent condition.
The book acknowledges that it is not failure that matters but how we react to failure in our effort to pick and piece together the broken pieces of failure. The Herd Boy gives us real-life principles that we ordinarily would not hear from successful entrepreneurs since they do not often share much about how they navigated their path to the top. Interestingly within our hands, we have a book that is a conscious narrative of the real story of a successful entrepreneur from innocent and humble beginnings.
Marambire recounted how he resorted to some piece jobs in the construction industry where he worked with different builders, doing all the donkey work, digging foundations, and toilet pits, as well as moulding bricks using a hand mould.
In the year 2005, he successfully registered his company and named it Skhano Pvt Ltd. The company specialised in brick moulding, hardware materials supply, and construction. With time, he bought a truck and grew the enterprise into a full-fledged transport business.
To date, he now has five companies. He owns Barmlo Investments, Barmlo Construction, Maineck Holdings, is Coowner of Great Dyke A.B. Academy, and is Co-owner of Light Planet Solution.
“I now have several properties both commercial and residential including my house of residence which is a double story located in the low-density suburbs of Masvingo. My community calls it a mansion but to me, it is just a house. This should be an inspiration to you the reader. Herd boys can of course own mansions too. The sky is the limit and giving up should never be an option.
“Always reach beyond the skies! I have personal security and have employed about 240 employees. My companies are recognised in the continent of Africa and participated in the Jack Ma Foundation under the Africa Netpreneur Initiative Price where we qualified in the 71 semi-finals and had an opportunity to be invited to attend the Africa Netpreneur Initiative Price in Ghana, Accra in November 2019.
“It was an amazing event where I met the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, The Eighth Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, The billionaire, the founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, and the billionaire, the founder of Econet Group, Dr Strive Masiyiwa., whom I had the rare opportunity of speaking to directly. These are events that I never dreamt of being part of in my entire life. I mean, let us be honest – from being a mere Herd boy who above all was orphaned and abandoned by relatives? With no university degree for that matter? That glamorous moment was like a dream. In all these developments, successes, breakthroughs, and rebirths, I give all the glory and honour to our God Almighty who has continuously stretched His hand throughout my life experience,” Marambire said.
