eBusiness Weekly
Joseline Sithole
South Africa has won the World Rugby Cup again, with a black captain in the lead. Our very own Tendai, “Beast” Mtawarira was part of this team, though his gratefulness to his adopted country led to a TWAR. (Twitter War). Beast gushingly, thanked South Africa “for adopting” him as a “son”. Unfortunately this did not go down well with his Zimbabwean countrymen.
My people thought that “Beast” could have thrown in a word or two about how it was Zimbabwe which discovered his talent. My sister Caroline, had very strong words to “Beast” whom she accuses of being “ungrateful”. I hear Beast has now posted a video thanking his former school, Peterhouse, and has since announced his retirement. Hoping this has quenched my country folk’s insatiable hunger for revenge.
However, the fact remains that “Beast” is just one of the many talented sports personalities who have joined the great trek to foreign lands to ensure optimal utilisation and monetary returns for their talents.
Some of these sports personalities include my favourite footballers — Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, and that mostly black French World Cup Winning Football team. If one really wants to make money in sports, perhaps Africa is not the place to do it. According to Simon Chadwick from Coventry University: “We can look forward to more breath-taking African athletic performances but not a thriving sports industry in the future.”
According to AT Kearney, one of the foremost global management consultant companies, the sports industry has been called an industry of passion. Today the sports business is estimated at about US$620 billion.
According to research conducted by AJ Kearney, the global sports industry is growing at a rate faster than GDP rates in most industrialised and emerging countries.
The Chinese sports industry is estimated to reach 2 trillion yuan in 2025. With a growth rate of 11,1 percent the sports industry, outpaced the national economy.
The sports value chain consists of four major segments which are: Properties, Rights Management, Events and Content. For example, the Properties segment includes; the intangible aspects that draw fans.
These include: Leagues such as the Premier League, PGA Golf and UEFA Leagues to name just a few. Television and media organisations pay huge sums of money to have exclusive rights to broadcast top events. The Events part of sports business, involves hosting live events and ensuring that spectators get value for their ticket purchases. Packaging Content for broadcasts and sponsors is also another important sports segment.
Not only does sports act as unifier among races and countries, it also has the potential to contribute significantly to national economies in terms of employment figures especially within the youth segment.
The late Nelson Mandela famously said “Sport has the power to change the world, it has the power to inspire”. In the European Union out of the 1,7 million people who worked in the field of sport, 37 percent of them were aged 15-29.
Though the above value chains look sophisticated, there is enough scope for former sports personalities and budding business people in this industry.
Currently, a quick peek within the Harare Central Business District revealed a couple of gyms and sports betting houses. Shops that were selling sports equipment and uniforms were quite popular.
However, though Zimbabwe has a dedicated sports policy, an academic field to match the sports industry is still far from being developed. Here are a few start up ideas.
Start a sports agency
A sports agency is good business which has a potential to bring high returns. If one goes to primary, high school, college and university sports events, one cannot help but wonder what happens to this “raw talent?” after they leave school. Sports agents assist in identifying sports personalities and negotiating contractual agreements that enable them to participate in professional leagues and clubs.
Although this business has low start-up costs, one might need to establish a good business model as time goes on.
Independent Sports and Entertainment Agency is the world’s most valuable sports agency valued at US$3 billion and has made more than US$ 100 million in commissions alone.
Excel Sports Management Agency another big business sports agency has prolific personalities such as Tiger Woods in its books.
Fitness company
The fitness and sports industry are largely interlinked. According to Forbes magazine, the Health and Fitness industry is valued at US$80 billion. Starting a gym is a good place to start.
However, emerging trends in this industry now call for companies to provide a “bouquet of services” for example, the Planet Fitness Gym has a running track, swimming pool, various aerobic exercises and even a ladies only section that is painted in pink colours. It offers a sauna as well. Overall, the fitness industry also consists of fitness trainers, aerobic trainers and sometimes Zumba instructors.
Sports media
For those graduates who are studying media, this start-up idea can be very lucrative. One can buy media rights within different media houses to host important sports activities. Another good place to start is to open a sports media house. This can include a sports magazine, sports channel and even start a blog. A sports newspaper can also be viable provided it’s executed well. The best Sports magazine is Sports Illustrated. The magazine was sold to Authentic brands for US$110 million.
Sports equipment and
accessories retail shop
Zimbabwe’s sports retailers are quite big on selling uniforms, gym equipment and sports jerseys. Other sports related memorabilia include: sports shoes, sports drinks, drinking bottles and even shades. In this business it is important to establish a market niche. However, I cannot emphasise enough the need to have goods that are durable. No athlete wants to buy sports shoes every month. In the same note sports drinks seem to be quite popular with the youthful market. Related products that are a big hit in the market are supplements such as USN as long as one has a licence to trade in them.
Coaching academy
If you are skilled in a certain sport you can build a coaching academy around that sport. There is a huge market for personal coaches and team coaches especially in our educational system. Sports such as Taekwondo also have the advantage of teaching children discipline. If one builds a strong coaching brand, then you will not fall short of potentially fulfilling clients needing your services.
Sports academy
A sports academy is really needed in a country such as Zimbabwe to bridge the gap between the school system and professional worlds. Sports academies are very good at developing talents. One of the greatest sports academies is La Masia de Can Planes. This is the academy that produced Lionel Messi and other greats. To be able to pull off this business it is important to ensure that one has got a knack for identifying talent. One should also be able to invest heavily in developing the talent.
Sports massage business
As long as there are sports injuries, the massage business will always be something that is viable. This business can be taken up by students who are studying physiotherapy at the university. The business requires low start-up funds such as a massage bed, oils, cotton/paper towels. There are many courses that one can take to be a massage therapist. It also helps to be certified by international bodies.
Sports events planning and hosting
If you are a good event planner, you might want to branch into this lucrative industry as it has got high returns. However, be prepared to spend some long working hours. Sports events that can be arranged include tournaments, award ceremonies, sports events, launching ceremonies and other sports events.
What to do if you are currently
within the sports industry
I would like to advise those who are already in the sporting field to start investing and being entrepreneurial. Shaquel O’Neal the former LA Lakers basketball great, invested in Google and Magic Johnson invested in the franchise business such as, Starbucks and Burger King.
As a country, we need to start building a robust sports industry. I will end this piece with my usual quotes. This one is from Emil Zatopek “An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his heart.”
Joseline Sithole is an SME Consultant and Managing Consultant for Southern Africa Development Consultants an SME Consultant Company.
