Shades & Layers

The Grass Is Not Always Greener: From Zimbabwe to Italy with Serial Startup Founder Tadiwa Mwashita (S9, E3)

• Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita • Season 9 • Episode 3

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Today I'm in conversation with Zimbabwean-born and Italy-based serial startup founder and entrepreneur, Tadiwa Mwashita. Her latest venture is the Italian Social Impact Startup, Feedel Africa. They provide services to innovation hubs and non-profit organizations on the African continent, with a special focus on women led startups. 

Some of the services Feedel Africa offers include fund raising, grant writing and AI education. Join us and hear all about Tadiwa's ability to combine profit with purpose, and how she is elevating African innovation to global heights in the fields of B2B SaaS, fintech, and AI.

Our conversations takes us on a journey from Tadiwa’s home country, Zimbabwe, where she stumbled on entrepreneurship as a high school student. We discover that she hasn't stopped experimenting with ideas ever since, and how being in Italy forced her to fully embrace her entrepreneurial roots.

It has been nothing less than a complex journey of navigating language barriers and prejudice that has led her to the level of nimbleness and adaptability you will hear about. She also discusses her latest and soon-to-be launched venture in the pet space, which she created using a methodology she has mastered: .the magic of turning local insights into innovative business solutions

Don't miss this inspiring conversation with one of the most creative and resilient entrepreneurs you will meet.

LINKS AND MENTIONS

Tadiwa's LinkedIn Profile
Feedel Africa - Social Impact Startup founded by Tadiwa
Feedel Ventures - The Investment company that funds and provides other resources to Tadiwa's venture


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Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Hello and welcome to Shades and Layers. I'm your host, Kutloano Skosana Ricci, and today my guest is Tadiwa Mwashita, founder of the Italian social impact startup, Feedel Africa. They are in the business of providing services to innovation hubs, female-led startups and non-profit organizations on the African continent, and some of the services they offer include fundraising, grant writing and AI education. Our conversation takes us on a journey from Tadiwa's home country, Zimbabwe, to Italy, where she is currently based. It's an account of resilience and testimony to her own strength as an entrepreneur, and that is adaptability. Tadiwa stumbled onto entrepreneurship during high school and hasn't stopped experimenting with ideas ever since. Even now, she's working on a new idea with two business partners, but I think it's better if she tells her own story.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Okay, so the easy part is my name I'm Tadiwa Mwashita, and I am a serial startup founder and entrepreneur, which is the difficult part, because currently I'm wearing many entrepreneurial hats, the main one being as a startup founder for a social impact startup based in Italy that's called Feedel Africa Feedel Africa and I'm just launching a new initiative, which is part of Feedel Africa sort of, but focused only on female entrepreneurs in Africa, and I also work as a. I have a couple of projects that I'm working on in the pet industry, for example. Oh wow.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Yes, let's start with Feedel. Okay, it's a social impact startup. What does that mean and how does that manifest in reality?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

All right. So as a social impact startup, it's almost like an NGO, but it should be a for-profit company. So in the Italian system, there's so many different types of companies or organizations that you can open and a social impact company is basically a private company, but that focuses on the social aspect. So in my case, I work with Africans, whether they're African migrants here in Italy or Europe and Africans in Africa. So just on the social impact environment or sector. So that's what I mean when I say social impact startups. It's a trending terminology that is there right now. So I'm not an NGO and don't work like an NGO. So my job is not to try and provide funding, provide assistance to, you know, less developed communities. I am a for-profit company. But how? I make profit? By providing services to, for example, ngos, institutions, organizations, companies.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Okay, I see, but your clients then are mainly in the non-profit sector um in the entrepreneurial space, actually because I do work with ngos and with governmental institutions, innovation hubs, incubators to help them, uh, co-design or redesign their you know innovation hubs and the startups that they're working with, incubators that they're working with, so that they can be at you know, european or international standards for what's happening in africa right now. Most of the innovation hubs in like southern africa are actually just co-working spaces. They're not real innovation hubs.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Right. So how are you bringing in the innovation, so to speak, to those spaces?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

So I was actually hired as an entrepreneur in residence. So, Feedel Ventures, which is a venture builder startup studio and an investment fund in Italy, decided to create something similar, but only focused on Africa. So, using the resources that we have in Feedel Ventures, which is where I started off as a business developer, we basically I just use the services. You know, I look for volunteers within the company and we use the skills, the companies in our portfolio, like an AI company that does AI training, digital literacy training and then I offer discounted prices to the organizations and, in some cases, where perhaps they don't have money, we can actually, you know, apply for certain grants that are there, whether they are EU grants, usaid grants, local government grants to fund our project ideas.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Okay, and which countries specifically do you work with? Okay, and which countries specifically do you work with? We are now going to be working in Zimbabwe, in the Zimbabwean space. So we have some partnerships with some universities, like Lopana University, and still exploring possible projects together with the Ministry of Higher Education and as well as some private institutions, so we've got some projects in the pipeline at the moment. So, as a Zimbabwean, of course, the first place you're going to look at is the country where you're from, where you come from.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Yeah, exactly.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Where you know. You know you can knock on doors.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

You can get around.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Yeah, yeah, exactly. But at the same time, we've got some talks, because part of my team is the co-founder of Feedel Ventures. One of the co-founders is on my team of Feedel Africa and when he's invited to present or to be a guest in some African countries like Tunisia, he goes and he pitches Feedel Africa there as well. So we have some potential projects that we're trying to work on in Tunisia as well, but in that case, what we're doing is trying to connect countries like Tunisia to enter into the Italian market. So there is a big push in Italy right now to try and be international, to try and link with and work with African countries that have potential. So, for example, b2b SaaS companies, startups or fintech, or if there are any AI startups in Africa, you know there is potential to get investment for them to do business in Italy, for example, or to partner with Italian startups. So we facilitate those kinds of synergies as well.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Right, I mean, this is quite a change in tone, particularly for Italy. I mean, can you talk through, like you know when you first started out there, to where you find yourself now, because you've always worked in the startup space?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

yep, I've always been in the startup space, I guess since high school, um, and so when I came to Italy, it was actually to try and run away from the entrepreneurial scene and try to get a nine to five job in the corporate world. You know, uh, how, if I wasn't, it was very challenging, uh, given my age, and you know the prejudices, discrimination, stereotypes that everyone knows exist in Italy, so it was very difficult for me to find employment. Uh, so at one point in time I started my own, I created my own startup, called, and it died. It was a failed startup, unfortunately. You know, trying to enter in a man's world as a woman is not so easy sometimes. So it failed In Italy yeah, in Italy, because in Zimbabwe it would have worked. But the problem was, you know, the Italian scene is a little bit, you know, traditional when it comes to doing business. So that failure was actually a learning experience. And also, with my previous podcast, you know, the African Dream, I was motivated and I learned a lot, and that allowed me to apply for a business developer position at Feedel Ventures, and it was because of my startup and entrepreneurial experience that they hired me. While working in that company I worked with at least I think at one point in time I'd like seven startups that I was helping doing their business development globally and locally. Helping doing their business development globally and locally, for example, in different sectors real estate, sustainable fashion, ai, I think, tenders, consultancy so a whole scope, you know. And so I learned a lot about the different startups that exist in Europe and the potential that Africa also has. So, you know, while I was in Feedel Africa, you know, even day one I told them look, I want to work Feedel Venture. Sorry, I was like I want to work in Africa, I want to help the African community.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Because Zimbabwe, you know I don't know how much you know about the colonialism days of Ian Smith where at one point in time we had I'm forgetting the term for it but basically Zimbabwe was cut off from, or Rhodesia was cut off from the rest of the world. Then we started producing ourselves our own goods and we became these strong entrepreneurs and became the breadbasket of Africa, etc. Etc. So we've always had that, you know, entrepreneurial mindset in Zimbabwe. However, you know, we didn't have the opportunities or the platforms to learn what others are doing. So that is what motivated me to work for Feedel Africa and with Feedel Africa to be like okay, look, we have the intelligence. Egypt is doing it, Nigeria is doing it, Kenya is doing it. What's stopping SADC, for example, from doing the?

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

same thing.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Let me just give them that access, that platform, whether it's through training or just matchmaking with other businesses. All right, let's see what we can do.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Yeah, okay, sounds great. This is Shades and Layers, and my guest is Tadiwa Mwashita, founder of Feedel Africa, a social impact startup based in Milan, Italy. One of the things I was curious about was how she navigates language and gender challenges in a non-English speaking country and, having lived in Denmark myself, I know that language competence can shape your entire professional experience in the early years of living in a foreign country. So let's hear more from Tadiwa.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

You know, what's interesting to me is that you mentioned this whole. You mentioned that it's very traditional, the work culture. The one thing that you don't mention is language, because, I mean, you come from an English speaking country, so that was that's something that made me curious, also because, notoriously, I mean, I've lived in Denmark where language barrier was a huge thing that stood in the way of progress. Basically, and I think, in comparison, denmark is probably more internationalized, well kind of, than Italy in terms of, you know, having access to the outside, and also there is a little bit of English within the country. But you know Italy, I know, when I first started coming there, no one, not a single person, even bothered to speak in English. So how has that been for you?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

OK, that's very interesting, something that I love talking about, because so yes, in Italy, I think, like only like 35 percent or so of the population of 60 million people speak English. Ok, and it's not people speak English. Okay, and it's not really great English as well. Fortunately, I live in Milan, which is the capital city of business, okay, so let's be careful here.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

No, no, no, that's why I said of business, you know, so if you want to do business you have to be in Milan also, which is why I'm stuck in Milan.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

So you know, everyone is kind of forced to speak in English and, to be quite honest, between graduation and working for Feedel, I was an English teacher for, you know, multinational companies, so they wouldn't hire me to be an employee but they would hire me to teach them business English and that kind of helped me understand my place in society in the context of Italy and how I could the job at Feedel Ventures because of my English language skills and my knowledge of, you know, the different industries, industrial sectors, because before Italy I worked for a logistics company, I worked for an NGO and then teaching in multinational companies in Italy, so I kind of knew my way around the different sectors already. And so I mean, right now my English level is, I would say, lower, intermediate, partly intentional, because, you know, sometimes or many times I've been in situations where I try to speak Italian with a non-English accent and I get the asylum seeker treatment you know, which is not so great.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

And then when I speak in English, when I speak Italian with an English accent, I get better treatment. So I intentionally do it that way. I've never lied to anyone and I'm very open and honest about it that you know, in Italy, what works for me personally is to speak English more than Italian. So that is it. I mean it does have its negatives, in the sense that there are some job positions I would love to have or apply for, but I don't speak fluent Italian because that's what they want. If they do want you as an international person, they want you to speak fluent Italian, which I don't speak, and naturally I'm bad at learning languages. So I don't know how many decades it will take for me to speak fluent Italian anyway, right, right, okay, all right.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

So that's uh, that's Feedel. What's your ambition for this company?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

For Feedel Africa. I really do believe that it's been a difficult year in this position to try and build it, rebranding, coming up with a new vision and services product offering and then trying to approach different organizations. Institutions sell the products and services. As you know, tadiwa from Zimbabwe living in Italy, trying to sell to you know, these governmental institutions or 40-something, 50-something year old men, and they're like who are you, where are you coming from?

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Yeah, yeah.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

And also coming up with my team that I said look, you know, I do have a team that I work with that I have access to in Italy, but if I'm going to sell to Africa, it needs to be a good combination of Africans and Italians.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

So I've got my African advisors that I call on and speak to and then the team I work with are mostly Italian because I'm taking from Feedel Ventures as volunteers and a couple from Ethiopia and Nigeria from Feedel Ventures as volunteers and a couple from Ethiopia and Nigeria. So it's been a struggle, but I would say in the past I mean since July, end of June, beginning of July people have started taking me seriously, started, you know, listening, being willing to work on projects together. So that's why I said you know I've to work on projects together. So that's why I said you know I've got some projects in the pipeline that you know I'm hoping to have launched in 2025 some really great projects in the incubation, women entrepreneurship, african events, mainly focused on women right now, but and also in the ai space, trying to really bring forward the opportunity for africans to learn how to use, you know, something as simple as uh chat gpt for prompt engineering. You know it's. It's a game changer.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Countries like india already doing it, and they're on platforms like fiverr, charging $20 to do something for you, and then they just use chat GPT. I'm like come on Zimbabweans, you can make some passive income doing exactly the same thing if you learn chat GPT. So trying to bring that education to especially southern Africa is something that I'm personally advocating for, as well as mentoring some startups and helping them along the way to win grants, to win competitions. So yeah, that's some fantastic stuff.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

And then, how are you funded? Is it all internal? Or do you also employ the same model of going to funders to, to finance these, the provision of all these services?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

So, yes, as a startup, I apply for funding in Italy, also apply for startup or accelerator opportunities in other European countries or in Africa or in Africa. However, investors don't actually like investing in social impact startups because as a social impact startup, your goal is not to become a millionaire, your goal is to help the community, but to bring in enough income to stay afloat. So I do have some investors that I'm in close contact with looking to invest in African startups, but they can't invest in me because they're like look, we want to make money, we want to invest in something that we can sell a startup that we can sell at the end of the day, and a social impact startup isn't that.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Why did you choose a social impact format, like what's your attraction to this space?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Well at the moment, realistically complete. You know, honesty, transparency. I was fired as a business developer by Feedel Ventures and hired as an entrepreneur in residence because I had to work in Italian, and again, you know, as an international employee working with Italian companies. They feel much better working with an Italian who speaks fluent Italian and can switch, you know, between English and Italian. But on the business side I do really well on entrepreneurship.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

So that's how this was a way to keep you about Exactly.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Yeah, some organizations see it as corporate social responsibility by working with Feedel Africa as well, so they pay for us to help them in whatever activities that they have. And working as a social impact startup gives me the opportunity to then also work on personal projects. You know, personal projects that can bring in my millions one day, I hope.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Great, let's talk about those projects. You said you're doing something in the pet space. Tell me a bit more about that venture.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Okay, so this is kind of like still in the pipeline. I've always had a passion for pets and have been exploring this for quite a few months now, which is kind of like how I went to Zurich in the past month and a half. It was also partly research, testing the markets, seeing what opportunities are there, and Zurich is the most innovative country in the world right now. So, learning from the biggest innovative mind innovation minds is you know what? That was my opportunity. So it's a product and a service two-pred approach. You know, I'm offering products and I'm offering services in the pet space. I don't want to give away too much because I haven't launched it yet. Okay, I literally finished the prototype today. Tell me I, literally. Yeah, I I launched the, the. Uh, the prototype not launched, but I created the prototype today. I have two partners already, one from Kenya, one from Italy. All women team, and it's Italy is a pit.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Oh yeah. Another place with more dogs than humans.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Yeah yes, yes, there are 14 million registered pets in Italy registered so I won't even talk about the population.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Yeah yes, there are more pets than born babies, apparently, so it's a. It's a very big space that's there and a market with a lot of opportunities, so I'm very excited um positive feedback. I came up with my idea, pitched it to a couple of people and they were like, yeah, I want to be with you in this project as one of your partners, and we've just been working through it for like a month and a half, so time is money and sure, yeah, um.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

So what's what's? What's your methodology as a? As an entrepreneur like you know, where do you find your ideas first of all and how do you put them together?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

number one is okay. So I started off in the entrepreneurial space when I was in Zimbabwe and, for example, junior achievement in high school, we had our little business.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Yeah, I remember that from my own high school.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Yeah yeah, I was the ceo, apparently I was. I looked good as a boss and then at solusi university I was in a transportation kind of project that I went into. I've never most of the projects I've been in have never been for profit but to serve a need. So with the transportation thing as well, there was a need wanted to go home, and I was able to solve the problem of logistics of people going home and it ended up being profit making. And then from there I dabbled in cake baking, like every other woman these days in Southern Africa, but I was really bad at decorating. To be quite honest, I was horrible at decorating. I'm not artistic. So instead I did my research and I found a product that could be sold, you know, like edible prints, yeah. So I bought the machine, borrowed money from my mom, bought the machine from some company I didn't know in South Africa, and then I started learning how to print, you know edible prints, like Cinderella or people's you know, faces.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

And at the time, yeah, it was a new thing in Zimbabwe and I started it. My brother took over because I was I always want. I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. So I got the opportunity to go to Angola to appoint NGO. My brother continues the business successfully. So I got the opportunity to go to Angola to appoint NGO. My brother continues the business successfully and I'm still jealous.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Well, you started it.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

I did, I did so. You know, I've always believed that business ideas are not especially. People don't wake up and know exactly what kind of business that they want. Sometimes you start off with one thing, which in my case, was baking cakes teaching people how to bake cakes and then I saw a weakness in myself and my product and another idea came from that. So same thing with the pit industry. I didn't see it as I want to be in the pit space. I was actually looking just for a way to escape Milan in summer and the heat and fish, air and travel. And I was doing research and I discovered the pit world and the opportunities that the pit industry has. And that's when I was like, oh interesting, let me, you know, dive deep into this, let me play around with this. In my past I did dabble in rabbit breeding, so I kind of have some experience with taking care of pets, animals, yeah.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Yeah exactly.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

And so, again, you know, it's never something that you think about for many months, but something that one day comes to you and you say look, let me really research into this. What are the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, SWOT analysis.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

What's your strength as an entrepreneur? Would you say as a reluctant entrepreneur? Would you say as a reluctant entrepreneur.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

I should say my strength is I adapt. I'm quite flexible. I think that's something that I also learned during my time as business developer in Feedel Ventures, which really helped me a lot, which was you can start off today. As you know, Feedel Africa right, Feedel Africa services all Africans, but it was through Feedel Africa that we were like look, we're forgetting the female space. Female entrepreneurship space is quite big. Let's focus on helping female entrepreneurs. There are so many of them. Most of the informal businesses in Africa actually buy females. They just don't have the support support for financing, support for learning or platforms. They just need to learn about e-commerce, platforms, etc. So you adapt and you develop into something bigger. You learn from mistakes.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Don't quit, take a step back. You know, take a month, take five years. De Dele was three, four years ago and I just sat and I said, look, I want to get into business, but I need to have the right product that I want to sell, that I believe in, that can work, and I'm not an IT expert, so I can't, you know, create some AI tool, some AI company, but I'm a product person.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

So that's what I look for. Okay, that's very nice. That's a really, really great. Hey, this is Chasen Lez Up. Next we'll get to hear more about how Tadiwa built up and continues to strengthen her entrepreneurial mindset, what success means to her, what it means to thrive abroad, as well as Shades and Layers, rapid Fire. So someone wants to follow in your footsteps, you know, and yeah, just be adaptable, thrive in a foreign country, you know where would you know? Where would you? How would you advise them to go about it?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

would I call myself thriving in Italy? Hmm, I, I think now I'm in a good place today. A year ago, no. So I would say the advice I would give to someone is really think carefully about the country that you're in and what opportunities are possible and are there and can work for you, and do not copy.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

The problem that I found with a lot of people, and you know, trying to motivate people to be innovative is I'll give you a perfect example of another project that I've kind of partnered in my brother came to me and he wanted to get into the cheese making industry and he said, well, I want to make gouda and cheddar in Zimbabwe. And I said, well, you can't do that because you know, if you go to every supermarket, you can already found goda and cheddar. Try to make something unique, something different. That is your brand. So that is the mindset that I try to encourage people to do. So my brother now is well, actually it was the wife that came to my brother and then he came to me. So, yes, she entered the competition because I encouraged her and I said, well, it's your idea, it's not my idea, it's not my brother's idea, it's your idea, let's do this, you know, let me support you, let me help you with this. And she actually made it to the top 15 finals of Zimbabwe.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Uh, for the total energies startup challenge, startupers challenge. You know, the thing is she was afraid to talk to me about it because she didn't think that it was possible. She had to go through my brother, who then talked to me and I said well, your idea is great. Why are you limiting yourself? Why are you afraid to put yourself out there? You know, afraid to take that leap. Do your research. If the interest on the market is there, why not Try it out? You have nothing to lose.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Yeah, yeah. So your advice be innovative think carefully about the country where you find yourself. Can you expand on that part, like you know? Think carefully about the country where you find yourself.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Okay, so I'll give again the example of my sister-in-law. The reason why she loved the cheese industry was because I went home with some Italian cheese about a couple of years ago and you know I gave samples of the snacks. You know everyone was used to cheddar and goda and feta. Everyone was used to cheddar and goda and feta. And suddenly I brought cheeses like grana padano and pecorino and I talked about mozzarella all the time. So she tasted it and she was like, oh, you know, this taste is actually pretty great. I would love something like that for Zimbabwe.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

But in her mind she was thinking how open are people when it comes to this? I do want cheese, I do think there's a possibility to make it. Also the price points that I told her of Italy. But then she wasn't. She was afraid, fear of the unknown, wanting to only stick to the traditional ways of making peanut butter, you know, with the grinding, the stone grinding thing. And once the machine came out, people were still like no, no, no, I want to do it the old fashioned way, you know, because I know it works. So just taking that leap, you know you yourself like it. Why do you think someone else won't like it?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

And sometimes innovation doesn't have to be you are the only person in the whole wide world who has created it. Sometimes innovation is, for example, we have PayPal internationally and in Italy, some startups, some founders, came up with an Italian version called Satispay, which, in my opinion, is exactly like PayPal, but they're the only ones to bring it to the Italian market. Same thing with Prosecco the rules. Prosecco is Italian, from a specific region of Italy, veneto, but international rules say that if no one has brought Prosecco to your country, or Italian Prosecco to your country, and you decide to start selling your wine as Prosecco as number one, it's internationally accepted. That's why now we have Prosecco from Australia, prosecco from Albania, because they were like hey, I like that idea, I'm gonna make my own they didn't follow the champagne law ah no, because Italy also wasn't smart enough to kind of like put laws into place.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

That's the thing If you act slow, you give the opportunity for someone else to just introduce your idea in their country. So that is sometimes innovation you are just the first person to bring something, so in my sister. In this case she's not, you know. She's bringing the innovative aspect of african cheese yeah, doing cheese differently?

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

sure, yeah, exactly, but it's cheese, it's cheese, absolutely. So let's get into the rapid fire, and first question is if you had to write your memoir today, what would you call it and why?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Okay, I think it's self-explanatory, Because sometimes, you know, we always assume and I think a lot of people have been talking about it that what you see on social media isn't always the grass is greener on that side. And for me to be in this place that I am in today, in 2024, since 2016,. I can think of the many nights and the many months where I was like will I have a salary, Will I have an income next month? Because I came to Italy thinking that it was better and offered way more opportunities than Zimbabwe. Of course, yes, it ultimately did.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

But now I've got the second part, which is okay. Now I'm in Italy. I have to stay in Italy till I'm 65 to get my pension. If I leave Italy before retirement, I'm going to lose my pension fund and then I'll go back to Zimbabwe and I'm stuck to lose my pension fund and then I'll go back to Zimbabwe and I'm stuck. So is it greener to be in Italy or is it greener to be in Zimbabwe, where your family is, where, if things go wrong, they can take care of you?

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Yeah, that's the immigrant dilemma.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Yes, as a startup, you know there are some funds that are there which I can't access or I have difficulties in accessing, simply because I don't have a family backer in Italy. So sometimes there are some funds in Italy for startups to get 80% funding, but you need to show some collateral Okay got it, got it.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

And who would your choice be for lead actress if you had to make that book into a movie?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

And who would your choice be for lead actress if you had to make that book into a movie? So I've recently oh, okay, no, oh, that's a difficult one Because I love Danai Gurira. Oh, yay, I love her. I think she's a very strong woman, also because she's Zimbabwean. But at the same time, I've been watching've been following lupita nyong'o, the movies that she's been making, like a quiet place three, and now she's got a podcast. She does a lot of traveling in africa and she's very relatable to me as a person, as a black woman, you know it's lana is more quiet, but she's zimbabwean. But she plays very strong characters in wakanda, the avengers and, you know, the walking dead. So, oh, I would have to see who would be willing to be she's also quite the activist.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Uh, danai she's, she's quite the activist also.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

So yeah, but she does it kind of like in the background she's very low-key but you know she does some really impactful work she does, she does. No, I don't discount that at all. I just like I'm saying with lupita. She's really pushing forward right now, like I think so yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah listen, listen, listen.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

This is africa. This is the african experience. Blah, blah, blah. People, I've got the platform I want you to. I'm going to make you pay attention. She has American citizenship now she could disappear and be more American, but she hasn't forgotten her African roots and, like I said, I just started really supporting her. In the past. That was 99%, michonne.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Yeah, Cool, cool, cool cool.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

So how do you define success? Success is oh, that's a difficult one. Oh my gosh. For me today, what I see as me being successful is being 100% happy. So the day I'm 100% happy, I will be successful. I mean, yeah, I will be successful, because how do you achieve happiness? That is the ultimate question. You know I wake up. I am, I would say, 70% happy. Now, really difficult to be happy in rainy, cloudy weather in Milan, cold weather it really affects your mood. It's really difficult when you're a startup because before you become rich and successful, especially with a social impact startup, every day there's a constant fight fighting for clients, fighting to be accepted and recognized and getting bashed by people because they don't understand you or they look at you and say, oh, this African woman, what can she teach me? It's really difficult to be happy and also in my recent trip to Zurich, I did see that classism plays an important part in happiness.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

You can buy happiness to an extent and to buy happiness, you must be financially successful so you want all the right things in place exactly.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

so everything you know, socially, romantically, financially, emotionally to be happy in all those aspects, I will. Once I achieve that, I will be successful Okay.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

All right. And if somebody wants to work with you, enlist your services or just you know, give you money, where can they find you?

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

They can find me on LinkedIn Taniwa T-A-D-I-W-A. Linet L-I-N-E-T Mwashita on LinkedIn. I will always respond to LinkedIn messages and I think that's the easiest way to see me and my profile in what we do as Feedel Africa.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

That's great. Thank you so much. I really appreciate you giving me your time.

Tadiwa Linnet Mwashita:

Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited and I'm actively looking for female entrepreneurs with ideas and projects that want to get some advice, mentorship, you know, looking for finance as I mentioned before, we do actually work or have some investment partners that are willing to invest in African entrepreneurs, and that is all from me this time around.

Kutloano Skosana Ricci:

Thanks to Tadiwa for her generous account of her journey so far. I can't wait to hear what she'll do next, and thanks to you also for listening. Please visit the show notes to learn more about her work and, while you are there, please rate and review the podcast so that others can find us. Five stars would be amazing. Thank you, I'm Kutlu Anuskosana Ritchie, and until next time, please do take good care.

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Kutloano Skosana Ricci

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