Entrepreneurs should focus on execution – Trevor Ncube

Entrepreneurs should move away from developing ideas and focus on execution, securing capital and scaling their businesses, says Ideas Festival host and convenor Trevor Ncube.

Speaking during the opening of the fifth edition of the Ideas Festival in Nyanga, Ncube said ideas alone were not enough to drive economic growth without deliberate efforts to turn them into viable enterprises.

This year’s theme is “Beyond the Idea: Execution, Capital and Scale” and brings together founders, investors and policymakers to explore ways of turning ideas into practical business ventures.

“This is not for describing the problems of our existence. This is not for strategizing, stopping, dissolving. It is time for us to move,” Ncube said.

He said execution required perseverance, attention to detail and the ability to continue working despite challenges, adding that taking action did not always guarantee success.

“Execution does not mean success. You can execute, do it, and still fail. Execution is the way you go about the work. It is deliberateness. It is attention to detail,” he said.

Ncube highlighted that failure should be treated as a learning opportunity rather than a catastrophe, as it could provide valuable lessons for future generations of entrepreneurs.

“Capital turns an idea into an experiment and an experiment into an enterprise. The next step is to grow that enterprise into a regional or even global group.

“However, sometimes an idea achieves absolutely nothing, and that is okay. The attempt itself is how we learn what works and what does not,” he said.

He added that Zimbabwe had the potential to rebuild and strengthen its financial system, arguing that access to capital depended on trust.

“Capital follows trust, and trust is earned long after the bank arrives,” Ncube said.

He encouraged young entrepreneurs to learn from experienced business people while urging established leaders to share their knowledge and experience.

“Nobody executes alone. Nobody raises capital alone. Nobody scales alone,” he said.