THE WANDERLUST WITHIN • BUSANI LEROY BANGO
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“BEAUTIFUL ZIMBABWE” CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR, BUSANI LEROY BANGO’S SHEDS LIGHT ON THE JOURNEY THAT BROUGHT ABOUT THE “BEAUTIFUL ZIMBABWE” BRAND.
1. GIVE US A LITTLE INSIGHT INTO BUSANI BANGO? WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND HOW HAS YOUR LIFE STORY BROUGHT YOU TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY? My name is Busani Leroy Bango and I was born and raised in Bulawayo, first in Morningside then Khumalo Flats just opposite Harare Road. Growing up I was quite an artistic kid who used to love drawing a lot. Drawings would vary from cars, portraits, and comical characters mostly and I really performed well in any artistic assignments from school because of this. Art and P.E are the periods I loved most in school as they were a chance for social expression with other kids and an opportunity to flex and improve my creative curiosity through drawing. When I turned 14, I really started to take drawing seriously and did art lessons at the Bulawayo Art gallery. This was a period where I realised that Art was not only defined by drawing but it came in different, unique forms of expression. Around about the same time, an English teacher noticed how creative my composition writing was and would always show her eagerness for me to submit an assignment. To me this was a push in the right direction and this creative
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writing has become the basis of my company - Beautiful Zimbabwe. As I grew older, I took on a new interest. I really became obsessed with Computers and Music. To me the computer was just a fascinating tool, and this is when I started experimenting with graphic design through Windows paint. I loved music because it was a creative art that inspired other creative people into creating and it told so many different stories that I could relate to. Through all this I had parents who let me explore my artistic interests as much as they could, and I believe all this became the foundation for “Busani the Creative Entrepreneur.”
2. WHAT ABOUT YOUR CHILDHOOD INSPIRED YOUR PURSUIT FOR GROWTH IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY? I had access to satellite television. I became very fond of a wildlife show done by the late Steve Irwin on National Geographic. My interest in animals grew very rapidly and I would usually imagine myself in the bush finding and talking about animals in the wild like Steve did. He was my first Tourism and Wildlife role model and I really wanted to be a professional wildlife guide – arguably a far cry from the artistic space I was wildly passionate about.
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