$10M in annual revenue – Nyasha Gwatidzo, Banya

Nyasha Gwatidzo was born in a rural village in Zimbabwe and came over to the UK in the 1970s. Nyasha is a distinguished businesswoman, social entrepreneur, and philanthropist who has, over a 30-year career, launched and built successful multi-million-pound businesses and social enterprises in the United Kingdom, generating a cumulative $130 million turnover. Nyasha is a qualified psychotherapist, social worker, coach, and mentor.

What does Nyasha do and how did she get to this point? (1:45)

• About 32 years ago, Nyasha was running a children’s home for children in need of therapeutic care. 
• It was the first of its kind to be set up by someone independent of the local authority and charities in London. 
• During that time, Nyasha saw a remarkable behavioural change in the children receiving therapeutic care. 
• She asked her staff if they would look after the children in their own homes and they said yes. 
• After years of looking after the children, Nyasha thought that every child has a right to live in a home and not a children’s home. 
• They were tiny with only six children at the time. 
• Nyasha’s first foster carer was a member of her staff who started working in her kitchen in her house in South London. 
• Now the agency is a vast National Agency all over England. 
• They look after and manage over 300 foster families, and annually they look after more than 300 children. 
• Each child has developed and grown into functioning adults, and recently they have registered as an adult placement agency as well. 

What led Nyasha to this in the first place? (9:26)

• Nyasha’s late mother always said she was not surprised that Nyasa was doing what she was. 
• Nyasha has always loved children.
• She grew up in Zimbabwe, and the first memory she has is when she was four years old, carrying a baby to her bed. 
• Her love for children has stayed throughout her life. 
• When she was 12, she left Zimbabwe and came to the UK for university. 
• She was going to become an academic, studying chemistry and math. She left all of that her tutor pointed out how much Nyasha lit up when talking about children. 
• So Nyasha ended up training to become a social worker or child psychotherapist. She also did a PhD in chemistry. 
• The comment from her tutor sparked the idea, and Nyasha’s passion for children kept it alight. 

Did Nyasha have any competitors? (16:21)

• In London, other similar agencies have appeared since Nyasha started. 
• There were only around 11 national agencies in the whole of England. 
• The other agencies were supportive of Nyasha, some of them mentoring her during startup.
• The first few months Nyasha just asked all of the agencies how they did what they did. 
• Even though most of the agencies had different models, they were all pretty similar. 
• Nyasha collected all the information she needed from these agencies, the structure, damage to the church, local authorities, how much they pay, how much they care, etc. 

Banya

Banya is an independent fostering provider. Banya supports foster carer households in Greater London and beyond. Hundreds of children and young people have benefited from placements with our foster carers since Banya was founded in 1997. They aim to provide a high standard of foster care for a range of children and young people. Banya has developed specialisms in placing sibling groups, unaccompanied children and young people from overseas, children with special needs, and troubled teenagers.

Resources

Connect with Nyasha: LinkedIn

Banya: Website

Beyond 8 Figures: Website

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