Running a Venue and Events Business in Harare, from Abroad

Challenge

Padonhodzo Events Venue and Real Estate is my family’s events venue in Harare, Zimbabwe. Running it from the Netherlands means steering the business on delayed, incomplete information — reports and messages that arrive out of order — while the team on the ground needs clear direction quickly.

Approach

As Marketing and IT Director I set the annual strategy, refined the business model and led the brand, marketing and company website. I built the brand identity and a digital marketing plan that grew the social following past 5,000 in six months, and I led the website build with a developer so the venue gained a third sales channel alongside walk-ins and referrals.

Alongside the day-to-day I worked on the investment case for the venue and its real-estate assets, and reconciled incoming reports into numbers the team on the ground could act on quickly.

Outcome

The asset value grew from around $300k to $600k+ against a 10% ROI target, the social following passed 5,000 in six months, and the website went live as a third sales channel. More than the numbers, it taught me to make sound commercial decisions from a distance, with imperfect data and tight margins.

Highlights

• Asset value grew from $300k to $600k+ (10% ROI target)
• Social following past 5,000 in six months
• Website launched as a third sales channel