AN increasing number of Zimbabweans are taking their
chances to trade forex online and earning a much-needed income.
Forex trading is so lucrative that some traders are raking
in as much as US$200 000 per month each. But seasoned traders such as
Bekithemba Nkomo and Kuda Manzanga have cautioned that foreign currency trading
is not for the impatient. They also caution that although the benefits can be
lucrative, the risks are real.
Munashe Maziwananga (21), an Applied Chemistry student,
says he has made and lost money while learning to trade. But all this could
change for the better. This is because a school for foreign currency trading
has been opened in Zimbabwe’s second largest city, Bulawayo.
The Foreign Currency Trading Association of Zimbabwe
(Fotraz) was officially launched together with the Foreign Currency Trading
School in Bulawayo at an event attended by people from across the
socio-economic spectrum in the country, including deputy minister of Industry
and Commerce Raj Modi, business leaders Bekithemba Nkomo and the director of
the Midlands State University incubation hub Patience Siwardi and internet service
providers such as Zol and Powertel.
Maziwananga says he is able to pay his way through
university and support himself from trading. “I have been able to pay for my
varsity fees. On average in a month I make $3 000. Forex trading has changed my
life as a person. I have lost money but the main concept about trading is you
are not looking to be right all the time. You just need to be right about three
out of 10 times.”
Analysts say it is now up to the authorities in Zimbabwe to
provide the necessary legislative support for this nascent sector of the
economy.
They contend it will take a while for Zimbabweans to
embrace foreign currency trading as a viable economic activity given the
history of scams associated with money changing.
Ray Motsi, the principal at the Theological College of
Zimbabwe at which the Foreign Currency Trading School is housed, emphasised the
need for a paradigm shift in the way people view earning a living.
Foreign currency trading could prove pivotal in efforts to
turn around the country’s fortunes as one of the speakers at the launch
Bekithemba Ndlovu, a businessman and an executive at Lloyds Corporate Capital,
said.
“This market is a US$7 trillion-a-day market. From a
Zimbabwean perspective, it boggles the mind that you and I can partake in. And
this is where I think corporates need to get involved and see this as an
opportunity for themselves and the young people around them. The school here
needs support of the corporates to teach these young people. There is nothing
wrong with corporates setting up a trading desk in their office. My advice to
young people is that you have the data and data is the new oil. You can imagine
what oil was to the world. We can certainly make Zimbabwe the hub of
international financial services. We have the people and Africa is the next
frontier. Bill Gates and Jack Ma have acknowledged that,” he said.
Foreign currency trading is different from the notorious
money changers on the streets of Zimbabwe’s urban centres called osiphatheleni,
a point which is not lost on the people behind the launch of the Forex Trading
School and Traders Association. According to Manzanga’s estimates, online
foreign currency trading is generating over US$200 000 every month in this
country alone.
The deputy president of the Foreign Currency Trading
Association of Zimbabwe, John Mutamasango, said the challenge for online
foreign currency traders is that the activity is neither understood by most
Zimbabweans nor regulated.
“We are engaging with the media and the general public. It
is far different from what people know. There is need to demystify what foreign
currency trading is, even within the government structures. A few days ago, I
was speaking to a few Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe officials who had no idea what
foreign currency trading is all about. What we need the government to do is
come to the realisation that foreign currency trading is a lucrative foreign
currency earner. We are looking at legislation which would make it legal for a
person to set up a broker and which would look into the transfer of funds into
Zimbabwe from a broker without looking like it’s money laundering. Zimbabwe is
losing out big time,” explained Mutemasango at the launch in Bulawayo.
Industry and Commerce deputy minister of Modi said
government was committed to the initiative to train players in the sector which
relies on internet connectivity and knowledge of the financial markets.
“As government, we realise the need to work together to
design and achieve our development goals. Government will support you. We are
behind you and my reason is to see Bulawayo working again. To do this, we need
to identify and support new forms of commerce and trading is a big industry and
we want to see it developed in a sustainable way. We will also assist up you in
setting up a special economic zone here in Bulawayo,” he said. Zimbabwe
Independent
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