When Tatenda Zuze walked away from a stable job in 2022, he knowingly stepped into one of the most uncertain chapters of his professional life. His new destination was a little-known Chinese-owned road construction company that had virtually collapsed, with only eight employees, no qualified engineers, and a history of management instability.
“On paper, the move made little sense,” Zuze said. “It came with a lower salary, an unclear job description, and I was the only local professional in management.”
Yet he saw the situation differently, viewing the struggling firm not as a risk, but as a rare opportunity. “What others saw as chaos, I saw as a blank canvas,” he explained. “I felt there was space to build something meaningful.”
The early months were defined by tension. Language barriers, cultural differences, and conflicting management priorities created a difficult working environment. Zuze found himself in frequent disagreements with leadership, while also navigating racial and age-related stereotypes.
“There were moments I almost quit, and times I nearly got fired,” he admitted. “It wasn’t easy trying to prove value in an environment that was not used to local leadership.”
Instead of maintaining a confrontational stance, he adjusted his strategy. “I realised direct confrontation wouldn’t work,” Zuze said. “So I shifted to what I call covert influence — changing systems quietly, leading by results rather than arguments.”
Related Stories
Over time, his approach paid off. Zuze became a central figure in driving the company toward full regulatory compliance with key institutions including City Council, the Environmental Management Agency, and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.
“Compliance was the turning point,” he said. “Once we became fully aligned with regulators, bigger clients started to take us seriously.”
By July 2025, when Zuze resigned, the company had expanded to more than 50 employees, built a technically competent workforce, and moved from zero revenue to securing road rehabilitation projects worth millions. The firm had also acquired new construction equipment and introduced standardised internal structures such as salary bands.
“When I handed in my resignation, my bosses were genuinely sad,” he recalled. “That’s when I knew the impact had been real.”
Zuze said his decision to leave was guided by long-term career alignment. “The role paid the bills, but staying too long would have pulled me away from my core professional path,” he said. “It had become more of an admin and operations role than what I trained for.”
Looking back, he describes the experience as an accelerated learning journey. “I gained more practical knowledge in three years than I would have in a decade of corporate safety,” he said. “Chinese-owned enterprises have a relentless drive — you only understand it once you’re inside.”
As he moves into a new chapter, Zuze says he leaves with confidence and pride. “I walk away with my head high,” he said. “I know my value, I know what I contributed, and I know that real impact is always noticed in time.”
Leave Comments