Collaboration, Professionalism and Good Customer Service behind local Electrical Engineering SME, Anzrom’s Success Story

A local electrical engineering small to medium enterprise (SME), Anzrom Engineering which specialises in the sales, maintenance, and repairs of electrical and electronic equipment has credited collaboration, professionalism and good customer service as being the reasons behind their survival and success in the current challenging economic environment.

Despite various operating challenges such as lack of enough capital, serious competition on a shrinking market, rampant corruption, political uncertainties and unstable foreign currency exchange rates, the company has continued to effectively and efficiently offer its products and services over the years.

While speaking in an interview with zwnews24’s Brian Kazungu, Mr. Romeo Ndlovu, Anzrom’s founding director highlighted some of the strategies that they have implemented in navigating an uncertain economic terrain towards expansion, profitability and customer satisfaction.

“The market has positively responded to our products and services because we are a collaborative and professional organisation that is addressing a genuine and observable need or problem in our communities. We have the utmost professional approach to clients’ requirements: we employ professional business ethics and have a professional team on board to enforce them.” Said Romeo.

He, however, decried the negative perception that the market has over the quality of products and services offered by local or indigenous entrepreneurial youths in the country as a factor that interferes with the development of local small to medium enterprises.

Mr. Ndlovu whose dream is for Anzrom to become a regional player in the renewable energy platform and to supply power to the national grid encouraged youths to start their own business and become their own masters despite the associated challenges.

“Starting a business is not an easy task since there are many challenges associated with it, but there is no need to fear. Work on your idea and become your own master. Seek partnerships where necessary, develop a good strategy and have a business plan ready as you seek investment and funding.” He advised.

Below is an interview between zwnews24 and Anzrom’s Romeo Ndlovu.

zwnews24: Would you briefly describe the background, nature, and mandate of your business?

Anzrom Engineering:  Anzrom Engineering was formed in the year 2015. It specializes in the sales, maintenance, and repairs of electrical and electronic equipment, be it for mining, structural and civil works as well as any other infrastructure-related projects. We are a company with a sound management structure that is dedicated to ensuring that we provide comprehensive quality, affordable and appropriate electrical engineering services.

zwnews24: What is the main motivation and major push for you to engage in the business that you are involved in?

Anzrom Engineering:  We are motivated by the need to professionally and satisfactorily fill a gap in the supply of domestic, commercial, industrial, mining electrical equipment as well as to offer any other engineering related products and services. We endeavour to use the breadth of our experiences, capabilities, and strength to create value for our clients, staff, partners and society as a whole.

zwnews24: What are the different products and services that you are offering? 

Anzrom Engineering:  We are an electrical engineering products and services provider. We supply, fix and maintain electrical equipment and components. We also commission electrical projects. Because of erratic power supplies in our communities, we are also addressing such problems through providing renewable energy options such as solar panels, inverters, solar lights, solar geysers, energy-saving bulbs and tubes as well as solar batteries etc. 

Apart from the mentioned services, we have professionally engaged in the supply of CABLE JOINING PRODUCTS, OVERHEAD LINES, FALL ARREST KIT, CHEMICALS, IRON MAN WORK POSITIONING BELTS, CONDUCTORS, CONTROLLERS, ELECTRICAL CABLES, RELAYS, SIGNALS AND SWITCHES AMONG OTHER PRODUCTS.

zwnews24: How has the market responded to your products and services so far since inception and what can you attribute to such kind of response?

Anzrom Engineering:  The market has positively responded to our products and services because we are a collaborative and professional organisation that is addressing a genuine and observable need or problem in our communities. We have the utmost professional approach to clients’ requirements: we employ professional business ethics and have a professional team on board to enforce them.

zwnews24: What is it that is unique about yourself, your team and your services, that set you apart and which helps you to stand out among various service providers who are in the same category with you?

Anzrom Engineering:  Strategic collaboration with our stakeholders and attention to the needs of our clients makes us unique. We strive to make our clients happy and this approach has paid off for us and we are grateful. 

zwnews24: What do you believe and understand are the main advantages to your clients when they make use of your company products and services in addressing their needs and wants.

Anzrom Engineering:  When you trust us to deliver on your electrical engineering needs, you benefit from reliability, fairness and honesty over and above the good quality products and services that we offer. We continuously strive for service excellence, which is underpinned by our commitment to total client satisfaction.

zwnews24:  Do you have any background in this industry? If yes, how could this have helped you in identifying the business opportunities behind your entrepreneurial drive?

Anzrom Engineering:  We are a team of Engineers and thus we brought our ideas and experiences together when we realised there was a business gap that we felt we could fill up.

zwnews24: What can you look back at and say that so far, this has been your major achievements as an enterprise and what do you believe has greatly contributed towards such achievements?

Anzrom Engineering:  The enterprise started with four workers and it has grown to sixteen members. To us, this is a great achievement. Knowing customer`s needs, quick response and other strategies contributed to this growth. 

zwnews24:  In a world where most people, especially the youth are failing to start and run their own enterprises because of lack of capital, how have you managed to launch and operate this initiative?

Anzrom Engineering:  Capital is a major challenge and we were not spared but we formed a partnership and contributed towards raising capital. Because of that, we started off without making a profit in our first projects since were still to break even. However, it is important for all SMEs to have a sound business plan that can possibly get you contracts and attract funding or investment.

zwnews24:  It is a fact that the current economic situation globally and even in your country is challenging. As such, what is it that has helped you as a business to continue operating under some difficult conditions that you have encountered?

Anzrom Engineering:  When we started operating, Zimbabwe was using a multi-currency system and the US dollar was still trading at 1:1 with the local currency. This at least made the operating environment favourable to a certain extent since we could afford to buy stock. After the ban of the multicurrency, we still had enough stock and this at least helped us to meet the demands of our clients. More so, items like solar panels, inverters, solar lights, solar geysers, energy-saving bulbs and tubes etc., can be imported duty and surtax free into Zimbabwe and this has at least kept our prices reasonable and affordable to the generality of our clientele. However, unfortunately, inflation has not spared us since we are now struggling to afford the required foreign currency to import stock from abroad. As such, probably, like anyone else, the issue of exchange rates and monetary regulations is affecting our operations. 

zwnews24: What are and what has been some of the operational challenges that you have encountered so far in the pursuit of your entrepreneurship vision and how have you dribbled past them?

Anzrom Engineering:  Operating space is one of the challenges that we encountered since the central business centre was infested with people doing the same business like ours. However, we were later on allocated some space through the City Council after serious follow-ups on our application.  We faced serious competition from local and foreign nationals who were already in the industry but with a well-educated and hardworking professional team, we managed to join the race and became a well-recognised entity within the market. We also partnered with a manufacturing company where we agreed to sell its products on its behalf and this helped us with stocks, especially solar related products.

zwnews24: Based on your experience, what advice can you give to unemployed youths and many other job seekers concerning entrepreneurship as a way of creating employment for themselves and others?

Anzrom Engineering:  Starting a business is not an easy task since there are many challenges associated with it but there is no need to fear. Work on your idea and become your own master. Seek partnerships where necessary, develop a good strategy and have a business plan ready as you seek investment and funding.

zwnews24: What are the current challenges happening in your industry or country, which are affecting the viability of your business? In that regard, what are the strategies that you are putting in place for you to achieve your goals?

Anzrom Engineering:  The following are a cocktail of challenges within our industry that is affecting viability:  access to capital, serious competition on a shrinking market, bureaucracy and corruption, negative perceptions in our society on the quality of products by entrepreneurial indigenous youths, not forgetting a difficult operating environment characterised by high licensing fees, erratic power supplies, political uncertainties and fluctuating exchange rates. As mentioned earlier, collaboration, professionalism and good customer service has been our cushioning formula so far despite the mentioned challenges.

zwnews24: Where do you foresee your business in the future and what legacy, history or impact do you want your business to have in your community, country or across the world? 

Anzrom Engineering:  In the future, we intend to be the biggest supplier of renewable energy in the region as well as selling the biggest wattage to the national grid. Government initiatives and breadth of customer base give us confidence that once merged with our organisational strategies we will reach such far.

zwnews24:  How do clients and other stakeholders engage your business? How do they get in touch?

Anzrom Engineering:  For more information and engagements, our stakeholders can visit our website as well as our social media pages. They can also contact us through email or get in touch with us through the phone via SMS, phone calls and WhatsApp.

www.anzrom.co.zw: [email protected]: [email protected]

+263772689034/+263715899860

#. The questions in this interview are adapted from the book, The SME HANDBOOK written by Brian Kazungu: https://amzn.to/32hZSlb