PAUL MAKAYA, 26,
ZIMBABWE
FOUNDER AND CEO,
BERGAST HOUSE
INDUSTRY: DIGITAL DESIGN
AND MARKETING
It’s not easy doing business
in a country perennially in an
economic crisis.
But Paul Makaya is defying the
odds in Zimbabwe.
With just the $200 he had
saved up, Makaya and his friends
invested it in 2016 and rented a
miniature one-room office space
that had only two chairs.
This was only the beginning
of Bergast House, a company that
offers strategy, public relations,
digital and design services.
Today, the two chairs he started
the business with have quintupled,
as they now have a team of 10 and
can gladly say they have worked
with numerous organizations
including software giant Microsoft.
“The initial trigger was
obviously frustration about the
limitations of being an employee,
but in that sense as well, I felt
that as a young, dynamic person,
there was so much more that I
could offer to the industry,” he tells
FORBES AFRICA.
“I also felt we had a part to play
in the rise of the African continent.
Our vision is to rebrand Africa and
this is our purpose.”
The company has served
over 103 clients including
Zuva Petroleum, Astro Mobile,
Maranatha Group of Schools,
the Contact Centre Association
of Zimbabwe, Tech24, the
Chartered Institute of Customer
Management, Steward Bank,
and the Zimbabwe Agricultural
Society, delivering an
advertising value of up to $175
million.
Makaya has been listed on
the Gumiguru 40 Under 30
list of emerging Zimbabwean
leaders and in 2019, was selected
to be the vice curator of the
World Economic Forum’s Global
Shapers Harare Hub.
He is also a founding member
of the Zimbabwe National
Youth Awards, an annual
event which seeks to identify,
award, celebrate and develop
exceptional young Zimbabweans
in all sectors of the country’s
economy.
Makaya plans to grow the
business into countries such as
Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, South
Africa and Namibia.The initial trigger was obviously
frustration about the limitations
of being an employee, but in
that sense as well, I felt that as
a young, dynamic person, there
was so much more I could offer
to the industry.