SHIFTING THE DIGITAL SPACE

A U R R A K A W A N Z A R U W A

By Peggie Shangwa

A woman who shifts the conversation with her innovation. Aurra Kawanzaruwa keeps expanding her horizons whilst staying true to the woman we met years ago. In 2014, we experienced the aura of Aurra, who was synonymous with Zimbabwean poetry. During that period, she performed, hosted drivetime radio, worked behind the scenes in production, and sang. Fast forward, she has fast become the definition of boss in the information and business space. Aurra takes the Digital domain bull by the horns daily and makes cutting edge developments that shift the trajectory of all those she comes into proximity with. She has a proclivity for Digital explorative work and Education. Aurra has stepped into her purpose doing work she is passionate about, unlocking amazing doors and pushing the boundaries of possibilities for digitalization in our Educational system beyond what we have become accustomed to.

The world is your oyster you can do anything and be anyone you want to be.

GM: We are excited to have you back Aurra, it’ s been a while, you have been up to a lot since we last spoke. Working for ZiFM- digital, taking the Aurra Nicole group public and now Afri-digital. Catch us up on what you have been up to.

Thank you for reaching out! It’ s been a roller coaster ride since 2018 to be honest. After taking leave of my position as Head of the Business Channel at Zimpapers TV Network, ZTN, in April 2018, May was quick to bring a new challenge to my table. I was part of the founding team of the Business Times, AB Communication’ s weekly financial paper. My role was Online Editor, a challenging position but I was well mentored by the paper’ s former Editor, Happiness Zengeni. I served as Online Editor for 6 months before being promoted to the Group Digital and Content Specialist where I served until August 2019. During that period, I was mentored by Group CEO, Mrs. Susan Makore, who created an incredible platform for me to build AfriDigital which was incubated by ZiFM and quickly became a profitable business. In August I set off to build the brand which evolved to become the Africa Is Digital International Summit; a platform for thought leaders from Africa and the rest of the world to discuss the inevitable evolution of Africa into a digital-driven society, economy and culture. Then in January 2020 I was given an opportunity to pursue my passion in education.

GM: Congratulations on the new post of School Principal. What a roller coaster this year has been already. Did you see this coming at all as you mapped out the future?

Thank you so much! Those closest to me know that I have wanted to start, or, run a school since I was in my early 20s. Teaching has always been an ‘underground’passion of mine and my first intentional pursuit to this end was the Little Entrepreneurs program I started in 2017. So, when I was appointed School Principal of St. Anne’ s school by Ms. Laura Bandah, I felt like I was being pulled into my purpose and grabbed the chance with both hands! It has also been an excellent platform to engage AfriDigital’ s existing network to help ‘digitize and modernize’the legacy

GM: Would you say that you have always known yourself, what you want, your dreams, your gift and have you stepped into your purpose if you look at your life in retrospect?

I’ ll begin my answer with a story; on my 18th birthday my Dad made me a card and wrote “The world is your oyster you can do anything and be anyone you want to be” . I internalized this and it became the basis on which I pursued everything.

I don’ t know if anyone fully knows themselves. I can safely say I have changed and gone through several iterations of myself so many times already. What I can say is that I am incredibly ambitious. My partner likes to say I “eat impossible oats for breakfast”! I love to learn, I love to teach & I love to help the people I work with to reach their fullest potential. So, if I look at my life in retrospect, in that context, I would say yes, I have stepped into my purpose.

GM: We know that you are an amazing entrepreneur and you take risks in business. Talk to us about the Aurra Nicole group, little Entrepreneurs and Afridigital. What birthed these?

Aurra Nicole Group is a pan-African investment firm and it was the first business I started after my divorce. It was where I put all my pain, energy and focus into. If anything, I could say that ANG birthed the entrepreneur that I am today. Initially I started off with 27 businesses that I invested in, but time and life lessons proved that this was way more than I could handle! Right now, we have 3 businesses in our investment portfolio in which we retain equity shareholding.

Little Entrepreneurs is a business and innovation program for kids founded in 2017. We started off by running business camps during the school holidays which were successful largely because of the team I worked with, in particular Ms. Tawanda Mudzonga who was the glue that kept the ship intact. Together, we built a formidable program that saw 124 kids learn how to start and run a simple business. This year Little Entrepreneurs evolved into a school program and is now a part of St. Anne’ s primary school curriculum. To date, through the camps, individual mentoring and the school program, I have personally trained over 200 kids in entrepreneurship.

AfriDigital is my inner geek flourishing! Our mandate is to promote the development and dialogue around the 4th Industrial Revolution and its impact on African economies and communities. We work in the information space and have a strong leaning towards research and data management, as well as education in the form of sector-specific public lectures.

GM: What pressures do you face now as opposed to the last 5 years as your career takes over in a man’ s world as the digital and business scene has been termed?

The biggest pressure has been to remain a consistent and PRESENT mother. When you have got so much going on, you have to work even harder to be a good parent, especially considering I have a daughter growing up in a largely single-parent house. Secondly, the pressure to perform has been intense. I have had to work incredibly hard to get other institutions to get on board with a business that has very few other counterparts in the country. Extensive 4IR work is still relatively new in Zimbabwe. Also, being a woman in the tech space comes with its own challenges and complications, add that to being younger than 45, everyone sort of looks at you like you’ re lost when sitting in meetings with some of the most influential leaders in the country. It certainly hasn’ t been easy.

GM: We know you have been travelling a bit facilitating workshops, hosting a few shows. Has the stage lost Its luster for you or are you still Involved In performances as a practicing Spoken

The stage never lost its luster for me! But I did have to prioritize my family’ s wellbeing and allow myself to be more than a poet, which people just got used to me being. I do still perform, and this aspect of my career reignited in 2019 when I played the role of Bongile’ s Voice in the NAMA Winning production ‘Bongile: We Are’a theatre production written and Produced by Chiedza Makwara and Directed by Yeukai Chandiposha. Although an off-stage role, this was an almost cathartic experience for me, bringing me back to my roots in live performance. I have since performed in the opening production of the SoCreative 2020 Summit, as well as at the I AM Women’ s Conference recently held in Harare. I’ m also releasing a mixtape soon so that’ s exciting!

GM: How has the shift in your responsibility affected you as a mother, entrepreneur and artist. Would you say that you would change anything at all in your life at this point?

I wouldn’ t change anything right now, although, if it were possible, I would beg for more time to be a Mum. If anything, I would say the mounting pressures and responsibilities have made me a more efficient and organized person and this reflects in all aspects of my life and career.

GM: What Issues would you like to see your art, business, teaching and digital work address on a national scale?

That’ s a tough one! I would like to see my work influence the creation of a culture not afraid to try new ways of doing things. I hope to play a significant role in shaping the way our education sector works. School is the beginning of everything as I like to think. If we can improve the way we learn, what we learn and how we learn, I believe we would be positioning ourselves as a nation for a more tangible level of success.

GM: We are so excited about your life, new love and a new chapter in your life. What values or lessons did you pick up in your journey to this moment?

Your excitement gives me life! These are my key lessons so far: a) God is not done with you yet –when you are at the lowest point of your life, just remember that God has a plan and purpose for you beyond your perceived reality. b) Let it go and let it go quickly –learn to let go of things, people or circumstances that have hurt you. You will not move forward if you keep looking back. The sooner you let go the sooner you can move on. c) Allow yourself to be yourself. d) Not everyone will want to see you win or like you or think you are the dopest and that’ s okay. As long as you want to see you win and you believe in yourself, it doesn’ t matter what anyone says. Cheesy, but it’ s true. e) Love and allow yourself to be loved. This is a hard one and the success of this is largely dependent on your ability to love yourself, faults and all. f) Never be afraid to walk away from the familiar to pursue the new.

GM: It’ s a new decade, a new chapter for you on all levels. What can we look forward to from you and where do we expect to see you in the longterm period?

Probably doing something out of the ordinary and hopefully a dress-size smaller! If there’ s anything my journey so far has taught me, you never know what God has planned. Whatever I’ ll be doing just know that I’ ll be living my best life and doing the absolute most!