Legatum Center Fellow: Racheal Chimbghandah
October 2009, Zimbabwe
Legatum Center at MIT
Racheal will launch a technology consulting firm for women-owned businesses in Southern Africa, beginning in her native Zimbabwe. Noting that many African women are not formally educated and thus resort to entrepreneurial activities rather than seeking formal-sector jobs, Racheal will advise women on how to incorporate basic technological tools in entrepreneurial business development.
Racheal learned first-hand of the challenges facing women entrepreneurs when her mother's knitting business had to close its doors, partly owing to inefficiencies that could have been overcome by employing technology. Racheal believes that empowering African women to use databases for storing information and the internet to expand markets will lead to more profitable and efficient women-owned businesses, allowing women to play a key role in rebuilding Zimbabwe's economy.
Racheal has previous experience in IT strategy and software development and has worked as a summer IT analyst with Oracle and as a technology business analyst with Credit Suisse Securities. In addition, Racheal has taught workplace and computer skills to low-income, inner-city professionals on a volunteer basis.
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