 I have so many young women that watch my videos and if you have a message for young women what would that message be? And I always change the statement and say young women and men and say guys believe in yourselves, believe in yourselves, have dreams but pay the school fees for the dreams because a lot of them is like oh I saw some big American somebody who made it at 25 or 27 so I'm going to make it you know a few people make it most of us we do it the long way step after step after step so be prepared to actually put in the school fees and the school fees is go get educated if you didn't your family if your parents didn't manage to get you educated well then make sure that you do get yourself educated so it's not always about a degree it's about am I going to be a craftsman an engineer a cook whatever but at least have what my mother used to call a certificate for life because most people just want to say oh but I've got my brain we've all got brains but what is your certificate for life what gives you the confidence when you come and talk to me when you come and talk to somebody else to say I've got this skill but please give me the opportunity to grow it so I would say first of all please guys get your certificate for life and you know believe and invest in your dream and work hard whatever job you are at give it your best because you don't know what those are going to open as a result of that you all doing don't you think I'm looking so fresh this morning thanks to mk clothing man um you know what it always feels good to wake up in Africa it always feels good to wake up in another African country everywhere in Africa is home for Africans so if you are tired of Ghana jump on it open allies and find yourself in Zimbabwe if you are tired of Zimbabwe get yourself fast jets and you will find yourself in South Africa go there and tell them that you are not a foreigner in South Africa you are an African and Africa belongs to Africa I found myself in this beautiful exquisite sample and luxury hotel right here in Victoria Falls this is and please do you need anything else because the queen arrived and you know what there are so many hotels and resorts in this place but it's shocking if I tell you that it's hard to find a black-owned hotel in this place but where I am right now is the first ever female black-owned hotel in the whole Victoria Falls and a story like that I always ask you for a favor like this video is very important to me and share this video so that so many people will be inspired because we need so many of you to invest in Zimbabwe whether you like it or not this is your country and it's time for you to invest in Zimbabwe and no no even if you're not Zimbabwean and you get inspired with the story that I'm going to share today bring that money and come and invest in this beautiful country are you all excited to see the woman behind this exquisite hotel this is a celebration of my family clan and what we have achieved together because it's almost like saying I can't be who I am unless I've got people behind me who are supporting me I spent a night in here and I felt like a king without queens that is the only thing that was missing next time when I come here I'll come with a queen or maybe queens you've done something that a lot of people say it's impossible do you know that yes I know but you know what it is possible you can see it for yourself you're here this is Mbannumena hotel built from scratch from virgin land to a five-star boutique hotel and I did it I don't like the fact that you said boutique hotel it's boutique luxury hotel okay right okay because I spent a night in here and I couldn't listen let me tell you something when things are done by women they make sure that they take their time to get the best out of it yes I'm so proud of you are you from Zimbabwe yes I am born and bred in Zimbabwe but you look like a Ghana woman though actually when I went to Ghana my first time people were saying you could be one of us so I think I'm just an African I love that so you are African I'm an African have you heard of this word for African I've heard about it I don't believe in that I'm an African woman I mean tell me as an African woman what makes you feel so proud to be an African woman I'm one of those I've never apologized for my identity I was born black my whole life is black and I am African I am as black as they come and I've lived in Africa all my life and I've worked in Africa I've got my children I've got my grandchildren I've got my business I'm a proud African woman wait a minute you never left the continent Africa I only went for a year to study overseas but the rest of the time my whole career has been born and bred and executed in Africa so which means that this hotel that we seen right here everything started right from the continent right from the continent yes and I'm one of those through my career because I've been in tourism I've traveled to over 20 African countries so I've also got a serious taste of Africa and you know for me it's about yes I'm an African from Zimbabwe I've lived in South Africa I've lived in Kenya I've actually traveled like I said east west north Africa southern Africa I'm fortunate she's a made in Africa product yes I am is Matifadza Matanya Zema born and bred in Zimbabwe but like I said to you in our African culture you can call me by my first name so the best you can call me that I allow you to do is either Mama Mati or Doctor Mati I prefer Mama Mati so Mama Mati you're born and raised in Zimbabwe yes and what I mean can you tell me a bit of your childhood liking Zimbabwe growing up very simple childhood I'm a bit of a township the child so a townie for my generation grew up in the you know the township that used to be called Harare that is now that where the name of the city was taken from that's where I grew up my father was a school head master in the area and my mom was a nurse so a typical working-class home I've got I'm a one of five children so I've got four siblings three sisters and one brother so really just a very simple childhood went to school primary school in town in Harare then went to boarding school a Catholic boarding school which is missionary school which is very typical for my generation as well for my high school and then my first degree which is political science went to the University of Zimbabwe and then that's where I was lucky that soon after that was about the turn of independence so I ended up going to Nairobi to Kenya to the University of Nairobi my first postgraduate was from University of Nairobi worked a little bit my second postgraduate was from the UK that's when I left the continent that's the only time I've ever lived outside the continent and then my PhD was from Steyl and Bosch in Cape Town so all my education has mostly been from Africa as well take a walk with me okay so my very first job was as a journalist actually just very briefly for two and a half years but you know what being a journalist you still use it throughout the rest of your life so the skills have helped me even in everything else I've done but then I joined tourism and I've never left tourism so my passion is tourism my life has been tourism I've actually met the I would say I've met the tourists in different capacities throughout my career so first of all was destination marketing where I was looking for the national tourist development corporation being a public just a simple PR or taking people around the country going for shows overseas and saying come to Zimbabwe come to Zimbabwe come to Victoria Falls then after that I joined a hotel group where I was in sales and marketing within a hotel group and thereafter I worked for an airline British Airways so and I really say that's really where my international career took off so I was sales manager Zimbabwe within months Zimbabwe Zambia Malawi within 15 months east and west Africa and then that's when I came to your lovely country Ghana I used to I was actually responsible for the sales team across the whole African continent because I ended up being area marketing manager for Sub Sahara so I traveled to Ghana to Nigeria to Seychelles Mauritius Kenya Uganda and also everything else in between so I've had a lovely rich career I must say so I did seven years with British Airways came back and part of that I lived in Zimbabwe then I went into Kenya then I went into South Africa so not only was I working Pan-African but I was also living Pan-African so like I said I've really had a very fortunate career then from there I was MD of a hotel group here based in Zimbabwe but looking after three African countries which was now Zimbabwe South Africa Botswana and we even opened a new hotel that was my first time first foray into opening a new hotel in Namibia with that hotel group and then it left them and then joined another big hotel group in South Africa and that's when then the rest of my career prior to this was so I was lucky that I was witness and part of the discussions I was there when those conversations were happening interacting with the team contributing to the team so when it then came so I this was 16 years of that of which also part of the time I was also the CEO of the Santan Convention Center in Johannesburg which is one of the biggest convention centers in Southern Africa and they separate to my interactions within my hotel group I'm also exposed to the high-end clientele because you know when you're in a big international convention center it's everything from I always talk about it I met Oprah within the first three weeks of arriving at the convention center but I've met some big celebrities whether in sports whether in music whether in entertainment whether politicians whatever so I think that was all building blocks coming to what we have today so on the one hand I'm actually meeting with the type of clientele that I'm now trying to target this descending high-end traveler but at the same time I'm actually having 15 years of lessons of how to build a five-star hotel so at the end of it I'm like guys I think I know what I'm doing I think I know where to go did you quit that job yes I did I quit that job in 2016 to start this project so I wait a minute don't go too far yes you quit a well-paying job just to build your own hotel because you know it comes a time in life where you're saying I've done it all not all but I've done enough I must say and it's a lesson for even I think you know some of the younger people who are listening because I grew up in an environment where it was risky to go into business I think it still is but there was a genuine oh my god can I do it because I remember having a cousin of mine 15 years ago saying you know you should set up your own thing and I was like oh I'm very comfortable in corporate you know I know I get my salary every month I get a check every I get a company car or company subsidized car or whatever it is so it was nice and comfortable and then but you do then I the day just arrived for me I wish it arrived 10 years earlier and I so when I talk now to the younger people I'm like please don't wait until like what I did do it when you're 30s and you're for early 40s so you can actually start and have this career because now the world has changed so yes I quit my job but looking back I should have quit 10 years ago I could have done this 10 years before but you know life is what it is the universe came together when it did come together when you were quitting your job no one ever told you that is everything wrong with you though I can tell you now when I decide the biggest question was more coming back to Zim and so when I saw this place like I said it was virgin land and buying land now I'm doing the the Jew diligence which was a lot you have to go and say what how do you how do you even start the process of building a hotel and the guys who are meeting me are people who would see me in these 15 years of a high high and you know you know high job and the several of them said to me are you mad why would you quit your job where you know we would see you there we were so proud we've got our Zimbabwe here who's working in this lovely job in the middle of Santa and now you want to come and build in Zimbabwe you want to come and what's your story I mean seriously but why not why not Zimbabwe but I think it was just the best one you can ever do is to stay outside the country and thrive I even was a run-up to business woman of the year South Africa in 2011 so I was even recognized in that environment so I think that's that's the thing and it is something I've heard to answer a lot in the last two years people have been coming here especially Zimbabweans in the diaspora and really I must say kudos to them they've supported me a lot and even Zimbabweans right across the country but the one question they asked me is how did you do it and almost that transition from you have got a comfortable life outside of them and now you're coming and you are investing and I'm saying to them it's possible it is possible I'm also here and I'm saying that how did you do it combination of everything else were to do with hard work I mean it's serious serious hard work I know you asked me where this brick came from I will tell you I'll not just tell you that it was from Wangi I'll tell you the company from Wangi because I was personally involved they may have been a contractor they may have been whatever but this was my project and I never let go and say somebody must take responsibility for my projects I actually used to feed the people who used to do this and I say I don't care what your boss is giving you I know you are an African man you need food I won't even tell them I know that you probably left home this morning without eating because you can only afford one meal a day so I will make sure that I am telling you I bought the pots I bought and I was feeding these workers to make sure you work so when I come to you and say do this path well guys do it for me do it this and that at least I've got that loyalty but to get back to your question I think it's um it's really about just the hard work but there had also been some school fees I had paid so I told you about my career I just didn't wake up one day and I had money in the bank my husband didn't wake up one day and he had money in the bank we invested because we knew that we had a future that we want to build for our children and grandchildren so I think that's the other thing where people think oh she must have a bank full of money or some no guys this is part of what I saved from my pensions from my bonuses from making the right investments as we were going along my husband was a chairman of a big Zimbabwe cell phone company we saved we invested we made the right decisions so by the time we got this piece of land and we were able to buy it because we had these investments but even they were to sit and say okay you bring this and you bring this you bring this because we are not millionaires we are from it or whatever so I think that was the first thing but through my career I knew that if now that's where this corporate experience comes in to say if you're going to start a hotel project don't start by saying I've got this wonderful idea and I've got this little bit of money but everyone else bring the money the investors want to see what have you brought in what what sacrifices are you making so they could see that I've said and and also how do you remain in control of the project so the one thing was I knew the land don't bring in any other partner to begin with because then once people start because and we had offers as we are now doing the projects to say oh but why do you need the land here a hotel here you do the management of the hotel give us the land give us the buildings I've been around the block I know exactly where the power is so I'm going to stay in control of the land I'm going to go and stay in control of certain aspects of this journey and yes obviously then you start getting partners etc etc investing coming in but so there was that we had done our school fees we had raised some money some savings to be able to start off so it wasn't just I just walked into big fours and I said oh my god I can I've got money I can buy this we sacrificed it took us almost a year to just pay off the land and we had to borrow one or two my bits here and there but also I could borrow because I had a good bank record I had a good you know my bank I've had the same bank you know here and there with the same people for how many years so that I'm just saying this that's school fees because people just think oh yeah now I've got this wonderful idea I knew who to go to to help me to now put the whole idea together because I had that experience to say find the best interior designer find the best hotel developer find the best xyz invest in your relationships because that's the other thing as well even as I was doing all that starting point as well it's about you know I've been out of the country almost 20 years but I could walk into Harare and go into this office and this office and this office because I didn't burn my bridges I still just because I'm out of the country it doesn't mean I don't have networks here it doesn't mean I don't I don't have friends anymore and then you sit with those friends because they know better than you do and they tell you by the way this is how things work this you better go to this better go to this yes it was a struggle I mean I always give an example one day just trying to get some legal people were done here in Victoria Falls and I had this incident where someone says to me go and stand outside in the in the sun for 30 minutes just because they can and you know what I went and stood outside in the sun because for me it was like yes my dear daughter that's how you're treating me it's fine but I know the bigger picture you don't because it's almost there was you know there was a lot of like in the almost what way you came to earlier that disbelief to say you think you can open a hotel who the hell are you um you know you're just some African woman and you're talking about building a hotel and opening a hotel are you mad and this same are you mad story came through even the banking institutions it's all well recorded every bank in Harare I went and presented every in the end I would give it go to the extent where I would give you say guys I've got a project I want to present to you if you don't like it please just come back and let me know don't keep me hanging because that was the worst some of us are very polite people you know it's a nice thing that we have so then they would not say no they'll just keep me hanging so in the end I would actually say to them please here's a project I've got I know it's ambitious and I'm asking you please come in and be my partners please come and find me but if you look at it even if you say from the first go this woman is mad we don't want to know anything about you please send me an email tomorrow or when I call you day after tomorrow tell me so I don't waste your time and I don't waste my time because I don't want politeness that borders on incompetence because that doesn't help me how long did it take you to build this mess three years I love the fact that it's built in its natural form yes together with the trees for like no trees was cut down in here only two trees were cut down in the whole construction but what we even did at the beginning we actually got did a topographical survey who brought in an expert who came and identified every large tree of a certain size on the property and I've still got that map and they were like 80 massive trees another 100 whatever smaller trees or so we knew where every single tree was the buildings are not in a straight line by any chance because it was like the buildings must accommodate must accommodate you said the trees belong here you building come and fit yourself around so so that's how we built it everything is about leave my tree alone you come around and build whatever you need to do so literally everything you see here this is the natural vegetation that we found here how many units do you have the rooms so all together we've got 18 luxury suites okay so it's all back to in sets of two back to back so at any one time you've got total privacy in your unit they are 19 90 square meters of space of living space of which 45 square meters is veranda and 45 square meters is interior purely because again the star so it's 18 luxury suites plus one private villa I'll come to the villa just now but talking about the suites it's already for that high-end discerning five-star customer it's about luxury living but effortless luxury is the way I would put it because we're not trying too hard yeah we know the likes of you my friend you've got better things in your home than you'll ever give you and what we're saying is but you know you're coming for the African safari now you're coming to enjoy the best of what Africa has got so we will make you comfortable we'll give you the little things that we know the modern traveler once so when you get into your bedroom there's space because this is Africa we celebrate space we celebrate the blue sky but your bed must be the most comfortable bed we'll give you the mosquito net so that you're safe from the little mosquitoes but we'll give you the internet access we'll give your whether you bring an international whatever you call them USB from Europe from America's whatever we've got a space for it there we'll give you a coffee making machine and a kettle because we say we cater for the type of coffee lovers but we're still also cater for those who want to still make their own coffee and tea so there's a lot of attention to detail to say what makes you comfortable in this space what makes this a living space so that you know you come and you don't have to worry about the basics it's all there but it's in very simple furnishings you see simple cement floors simple walls that are whitewashed how did you feel any time you walk in here I think now I'm calm I remember sometimes like especially 2020 because I opened just before 2020 you know the COVID and I would sit on the verandah and say did I really do this but the the biggest one that I can quote you was my mom so she came earlier this year she's 80 89 years old my mother's turning 90 in December we've got a big party for her here I just we'll do it in january unfortunately because we've got to make money in December then we'll do the party in january but she came and this was the first time coming after it was finished but she's one of those very very strong women and she so I said to her we're sitting now at one of the verandahs and she was like wow I can't believe you did this my daughter I really can't believe it's come out so beautifully and I said mama you know the tragedy of it is people don't believe I did it that they're trying to find there must be someone somewhere you know it can't be you you know and my mom says well if I wasn't your mother wouldn't believe me right now this is supposed to be a love nest but for you I'll stand out mother mother son love nest you know when when when I came here last night I was so sad the fact that I came here all by myself oh yeah I'm like this is not a place to come alone see I'm giving you so many secrets today and make sure you pay for it when you're coming here don't come alone because I mean knowing that is spending time with a loved one here will be one of the best moment ever I agree completely and I can tell you seriously it actually has happened where when normally people come even with a business meeting they'll phone from their room to their wife to say or to their partner and say my goodness and seriously they'll actually come back we actually have had that then six weeks later we'll be like do you remember me I was here six weeks ago now because it's almost like I need to share this you've got to see this so it's beautiful so which means that I'm coming back so you're coming back I definitely coming back I'm coming back I want to know um I have so many young women that watch my videos yes and if you have a message for young women what would that message be and I always change the statement and say young women and men um because I've got two daughters and two sons so I I'm a I'm a I'm a mother of equality and I do know women have been disadvantaged but I think for me it's about the African child and say guys believe in yourselves believe in yourselves have dreams but pay the school fees for the dreams because a lot of them is like oh I saw some big American somebody who made it 25 or 27 so I'm going to make it you know a few people make it most of us we do it the long way step after step after step so be prepared to actually put in the school fees and the school fees is go get educated if you didn't your family if your parents didn't manage to get you educated well then make sure that you do get yourself educated so it's not always about a degree it's about am I going to be a craftsman an engineer a cook whatever but at least have what my mother used to call a certificate for life because most people just want to say oh but I've got my brain we've all got brains but what is your certificate for life what gives you the confidence when you come and talk to me when you come and talk to somebody else to say I've got this skill but please give me the opportunity to grow it so I would say first of all please guys get your certificate for life and you know believe and invest in your dream and work hard whatever job you are at give it your best because you don't know what those are going to open as a result of that and I always believe like I mentioned earlier don't burn bridges even if now you have to move on after two years after 18 months after three years keep a that's already your network keep that network even now when I'm doing this I'm getting people were saying we last spoke in 30 years ago but I'm coming to your hotel we last met at high school I'm coming to your hotel because the world is such a small place so build networks as you go ahead I think talking about the African people that's where I've found sometimes we lack we've got family networks but we're not building business networks so we need to build and business networks started 16 at 18 at high school at whatever so they must build those networks and then you know like I said prepare your dreams some people are lucky they can by age 25 30 I mean I've got a son like that he's like running places they can get high quickly others take a bit longer so if everybody's got their pace but believe in yourself believe in Africa believe we can do this that your skin is not a disadvantage it is actually the best asset you've ever had believe in Africa but Africa don't believe in us but you are part of the solution you are part of that Africa solution so yes there'll be one two three who don't believe in Africa but we if we start that revolution which is what you're doing of actually saying guys this is us let us believe in ourselves let us build for ourselves there's a story about my my grandson who said I heard him saying to a friend oh my grandmother owns bano mena hotel I was embarrassed first I was like oh my god I must shut up this child but you know I said to myself what a profound statement because I could never have said that my children can never have stated that what our grandparents invested in us was education was the was morals was ethics was standards what we call in southern Africa Ubuntu just being respectful and human being so we must not lose those values because some societies don't have them we've got them in abundance you know that's why I said to you you can't call me you know you must call me Dr. Mati or Mama Mati but the younger generation my what I'm the seeds I'm sowing is that my grandson already at six years of age is thinking I can own a hotel one day the more we can have of those and also help the ones who are struggling and actually saying how can we help to build them up and you know we were talking together earlier this morning with my marketing manager and we're saying let's invest in more training for our staff because some of them come from different backgrounds they've not had the exposure that we have had they've even never been outside of Zimbabwe they've maybe never even been outside of Victoria Falls how can we empower them so within their own space they actually start creating something bigger for themselves and for their children as well so yeah it's a long journey but who'll do it we have over four million Zimbabwe living outside the country yes um do you think you have a message for them because you're ones like them I think I've already touched on it because I've struggled both sides I've lived outside the country now I've lived inside the country you know what it's possible it is possible I built this from scratch I tell you I know where this chair was bought because I was there I know where that cement came from because I was there I know where that light came from I mean because I was there and there is no substitute for hard work and there is no substitute for doing things the right way so it is doable the Victoria Falls is not for someone else or someone else it belongs to the country so does the whole of Zimbabwe there's a lot of negativities attached to Zimbabwe to the extent that the aspera don't even want to feel so proud that they belong in here I don't know if you know that like I said to you I believe in solutions not the problems not problems I am the solution so are you saying that Zimbabwe's are the solutions for Zimbabwe? Zimbabwe's are the solutions for Zimbabwe so Mozambique is the solution for Mozambique and you know people don't believe when I say this this is an eight million dollar unit give or take that's what it took to build this thing together 90% of this money came from Zimbabwe yeah so which means there's money in the country there's money in the country it's got its issues whatever but you know what I said give me a lemon I'll make very good lemonade I won't make lemonade I'll make strawberry out of lemon but but that is the thing because I think that there's a lot of oh but I can't do this it is so difficult I mean this wood came from the eastern highlands I don't know if you go to the eastern highlands yes that's where this wood came from and when I tell people they're like really everything was built from the physical structure some of them the nice furnishings are imported but literally anything that you see is the physical structure what Zimbabwe it was difficult because now it's saying how do I get this wood from the eastern highlands you know then the contractor tells me we have to do this we have to do this I said yes let's do it the bricks came from Bulaway or 500 kilometers away this and that but it's doable and even under any other circumstances even if you were to go and try and build a hotel in Cape Town today or a hotel in Nairobi or whatever or in Ghana or in Accra or whatever you still face challenges exactly there's nothing that's going to make it easier construction is if construction was so easy everyone would do it you know but you've got to do it um and yeah it's doable final question if you had a chance to change one thing in Zimbabwe what will it be I'll change the milk that I drink every day because yes I know you thought I was going to say something profound no I've got nothing to change things can improve there's always room for improvement but you know what I go back to my statement you are the solution so I want fresh vegetables for my hotel please give me fresh vegetables I want fresh mushrooms for my hotel please give me fresh mushrooms I want to taste I want my guests every Sunday to eat the trout from the eastern islands you're talking about because that's trout country and it was even if you look at my nose from 2017 I was like every Sunday they'll be eating trout from Yanga I've not achieved that I want to achieve that but I want to achieve it because it's easy to go and get that trout so there's a lot that needs to be done but we have the solution and let's get on with it I want to say thank you so much for talking to me and I really appreciate your time thank you