Africa is a young continent with millions of young people with vast potential ready to make their contributions to its future economic development and prosperity. But those young people need support, encouragement and the right environment to thrive. In Zimbabwe, social entrepreneur Tadziripa Madzima, founder of IGNITE Youth, has created an enterprise committed to empowering young people to fulfill that potential.
LoA learned more about this social impact maker and entrepreneur who is on a mission to make a difference.
What does your company do?
IGNITE Youth unleashes the innovative and creative power of young people to contribute to their nation’s development, create meaningful careers for themselves and become the next generation of African Leaders, which ultimately strengthens the communities they live in. We achieve this by providing holistic youth development programs that address the needs of children and youth aged 13-25, who mostly come from underserved communities in Zimbabwe. We address their needs across five key focal areas: purpose-centered career coaching meant to improve employment and/or entrepreneurial outcomes and prospects; building better emotional and mental health; servant leadership development; girl empowerment; and fostering the creation of youth innovations through access to technology, competitions and platforms such as pitch nights.
“As the child of a single mother, I was inspired to start IGNITE Youth after realizing that I and many young people in my nation do not receive adequate mentorship to reach their full potential.”
What inspired you to start your company?
Growing up with a single parent is special, but it is not easy. My mother worked long hours to provide for my siblings and I, and so she had less time to interact with me about my career and life ambitions. Looking back, I admire that my mother was doing this major task of raising three children alone. However, because of this, I had my own rough patches that are unique to growing up in a single parent household. As I got older into my teenage years, I realized I could not go directly to her for any advice on any topic from identifying a career path to issues such as struggling friendships. I was also receiving little to no career guidance at school. This is where my passion to start IGNITE Youth came from. Realizing that there were probably many other young people who were in a similar or worse situation to mine, I decided to do something about creating opportunities for young people to access career coaching and to receive mentorship that supports their overall personal growth and develops them into future leaders. I also wanted to increase access to resources and opportunities that would help youth prepare for the workplace environment or run successful businesses of their own. I started working with the youth in my Church where I became the Youth Leader and Coordinator. Some years later, I realized that I wanted to expand the work I was doing with young people beyond my Church and impact young people across the country in schools, colleges, universities and the community at large. Thus I formed IGNITE Youth.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
We have a holistic approach to youth development because we have realized that it is a challenge and often difficult to help a young person to focus on discovering their career path when they are struggling with mental and emotional issues such as depression and anxiety. We also have a purpose-centered approach to career guidance coaching. The purpose-centered approach is crucial because we believe it is important for youth to be satisfied with the career paths they choose and to choose careers that best suit their skillset and talents. This increases the chances of them being successful in the career path they choose, happy, productive and healthy citizens who are better positioned to impact their communities positively and ultimately their nation. The purpose centered career coaching approach is a deep dive into the young person’s skills, talents, passions, to set the youth up to grow to their greatest potential and it's customized to fit their unique and individual selves.
“IGNITE Youth unleashes the innovative and creative power of young people to contribute to their nation’s development, create meaningful careers for themselves and become the next generation of African Leaders.”
Tell us a little about your team
There is myself, Tadziripa Madzima, as Founder of IGNITE Youth Organisation - I am a communications expert with over twelve years’ experience in creating high-impact marketing campaigns for both corporate and non-profit organizations. For 5 years, I served as the Africa Communications Manager for Reach for Change, an international organization that runs innovation competitions, accelerators, and incubators to support social entrepreneurs and start-ups that are solving pressing issues facing children and youth. I oversaw the communications for seven African countries namely, Tanzania, Ghana, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, Senegal, and Ethiopia. I have provided training in marketing and communications skills to more than 200 social entrepreneurs from these countries. In 2018 I was selected as a Mandela Washington Fellow, and spent 6 weeks at the University of Texas Austin in the Business and Entrepreneurship track, where I gained new knowledge to effectively train more youth in entrepreneurship and communication skills. As the child of a single mother, I was inspired to start IGNITE Youth after realizing that I and many young people in my nation do not receive adequate mentorship to reach their full potential.
The Team of Leaders:
Vongai Mazorodze, the young lady in charge of our Ignite Digital & Tech Innovations Program, is studying Software Engineering at the Harare Institute of Technology. She is passionate about encouraging girls to study STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) and she is also passionate about helping youth use STEM to create innovative solutions to problems their communities face.
Rufaro Chapoterera is the young lady in charge of our Ignite Girls Program and has Masters in International Relations from the University of Zimbabwe. She is passionate about issues surrounding women and girls' education and rights.
Samantha Kanoyangwa, the young lady in charge of our IGNITE Mentorship Program is studying Law at the University of Zimbabwe. She is passionate about helping youth access mentorship services because it was through the support and guidance of a mentor that she was able to pursue her Law degree.
Tendai Handina, the young man who leads the Entrepreneurship Program, runs his own business called Adonai Corporation, a Microsoft partner which focuses on helping businesses use Information Technology to better their performance and give maximum value to customers. He is passionate about helping other young entrepreneurs transform their businesses and run successful start-ups.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I started having a passion in entrepreneurship when I started working at Reach for Change. Professionally, I am a communications expert with over twelve years’ experience in creating high-impact marketing campaigns for both corporate and non-profit organizations. I served as the Africa Communications Manager for Reach for Change, an international organization that runs innovation competitions, accelerators, and incubators to support social entrepreneurs who are solving pressing issues facing children and youth. I oversaw the communications and marketing for seven African countries, Tanzania, Ghana, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, Senegal, and Ethiopia. I have provided training in marketing and communications skills to more than 200 social entrepreneurs from these countries. Earlier this year, I was promoted to the Global Communications Manager of Reach for Change, where I support the organisation to deliver effective brand visibility globally across its 17 markets internationally.
“We have a holistic approach to youth development because we have realized that it is a challenge and often difficult to help a young person to focus on discovering their career path when they are struggling with mental and emotional issues such as depression and anxiety.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
My future plans and aspirations are to see my company expand to 4 more cities and towns in Zimbabwe and reach 7000 youth in 3 years.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
The impact and change that our work is achieving in the lives of youth and children. Seeing the youth begin to build a clear direction for their lives, to begin to have self-confidence in their abilities and to see a hope for their lives despite the tough economic challenges and to see their hope for a better future, is the biggest satisfaction.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Just start! It seems impossible until it is done. Just go for it, make sure it is something you are passionate about! Don't give up even when you face challenges. The challenges make you stronger as a person. They mould you into the leader you need to become. Someone out there is waiting for you to start so they can have access to your service and products. Start with whatever you have and with commitment and perseverance you will see your business or initiative grow and expand tremendously!
Contact or follow IGNITE Youth
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL tadzie@igniteyouth.co.zw
Why LoA loves it….
They say you need to be the change you want to see. In the case of social entrepreneur, Tadziripa Madzima, she is leading by example, demonstrating that if you have a big vision to make a difference, big change can indeed happen. She is galvanising and empowering a generation of young people to harness their potential and be the change that Africa needs them to be in the future. An inspirational social entrepreneur to watch on her amazing journey. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa