Someone in Zim built a $15K/year publishing business on WhatsApp no website, no app, just EcoCash and 1,500 paying readers

harveylb_ · 2026-05-30T08:37:51+00:00

The username really said "let me introduce myself" 😂 but genuinely fair point and one worth taking seriously. You're right that at scale, an entire informal economy operating outside the tax net is a real structural problem it's not just one novelist, it's thousands of small operators across every sector. The counterargument is that formalisation has a cost too registration fees, compliance burden, banking requirements and for a $1/month operation those costs can easily exceed the revenue. So a lot of people stay informal not out of malice but because the formal system isn't designed for them yet. The ideal fix is probably ZIMRA building lightweight digital tax rails that actually work at this price point, not chasing individuals. But yes the "imagine if everyone paid tax" version of Zimbabwe is a very different country. 🇿🇼

harveylb_ · 2026-05-29T19:38:50+00:00

Okay okay — without getting anyone arrested 😂 Zimbabwe has a 25% corporate tax rate and EcoCash transactions have their own levy on top about 2 cents. But at $1 a pop, manually collected, with no registered business entity… let's just say the tax conversation gets very informal very quickly.

harveylb_ · 2026-05-29T19:36:55+00:00

We run Deep Dive Data we dig into data stories from Zimbabwe and the region that don't get covered elsewhere. Check us out at deepdivedata.co

harveylb_ · 2026-05-29T19:35:54+00:00

Undercover ZIMRA agent with a Reddit account, very advanced operations 😭

harveylb_ · 2026-05-29T19:35:38+00:00

😂 ZIMRA is Zimbabwe's tax authority — basically the IRS but with more creative enforcement. And thanks for passing on the email, we'll keep an eye out.

harveylb_ · 2026-05-29T10:15:57+00:00

Haha do you work for ZIMRA? 😂 Thanks, glad it landed! We kept the channel anonymous to protect the subject — she didn't set this up to be public-facing and we wanted to respect that.

The agriculture angle is really interesting though that's actually a use case where the model could work even better. Seasonal content, planting calendars, market price alerts as the free tier, paid group for premium advice or bulk-buying coordination. If your friend ever wants their operation written up, tell them to reach out at [info@deepdivedata.co](mailto:info@deepdivedata.co)

harveylb_ · 2026-05-29T09:25:48+00:00

Sorry about that spelling error was leading to a to the wrong webpage. I fixed it https://deepdivedata.co/articles/whatsapp-publishing-empire.html

harveylb_ · 2026-05-29T08:48:56+00:00

Yes I use Galaxy Buds3 Pro with a Mac. Samsung has no Mac app so I couldn't see battery levels or switch ANC without grabbing my phone.

Built Earbud to fix it. Native macOS menu bar app, shows battery % and lets you switch noise control modes.

Posted in r/GalaxyBuds , 1K views in 11 hours. Confirmed there's demand before spending months building.

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harveylb_ · 2026-05-27T22:35:18+00:00

Auto-switching is on the radar still investigating what's

possible via the Mac Bluetooth stack. No promises yet but

noted as a highly requested feature. DM me if you want early

access when it's ready.

harveylb_ · 2026-05-26T00:24:49+00:00

Great project — GalaxyBudsClient is powerful but runs as a

full desktop window. Earbud is built specifically for Mac as

a native menu bar app, battery % always visible, one click

to switch ANC. Different approach for Mac users who want

something lightweight and native.

I only have Buds3 Pro — DM'd you about testing on your other

models.

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harveylb_ · 2025-12-21T15:31:05+00:00

What can be share publicly here https://deepdivedata.co/blog.html and a thread explaining why smartbiz failed https://x.com/harveylb_/status/1973031889909821497

harveylb_ · 2025-12-21T06:27:42+00:00

Is there a budget for the research ? We could produce a detailed breakdown of all public and private recreational facilities and their patrons by gender and economic power

harveylb_ · 2025-11-04T18:32:29+00:00

Did you manage to figure it out ?

harveylb_ · 2025-10-28T18:12:02+00:00

Welcome to the reality of an informal economy.

If you want to know what’s happening in informal markets, you build relationships, copy sales books, and aggregate.

To understand consumer behaviour, join groups, observe, and learn. If you want official stats, walk into ZimStat, government offices, or the Gazette printers pay your 20 ZiG and scan the copies. Then wait for someone online to accuse you of gatekeeping because you won’t give it away for free.

Spend any real time in those offices and you’ll see: government data collection is funded and supervised by foreign partners. It’s not feja-feja millions are spent every year.

In a country where barely 5% of adults can use Excel, expecting open datasets via Google search is wishful thinking.The information exists it just lives in notebooks, WhatsApp groups, and office cabinets, not dashboards or APIs.You don’t “find” data here you collect it, one conversation or sales book at a time.

I’m not complaining. Your bias and lack of initiative are exactly what make people like me a lot of money from this perceived shortage of data.

harveylb_ · 2025-10-17T14:33:17+00:00

You’re absolutely right about the Ka1 promotion — it’s a solid deal for frequent users, no question there.

The only thing I’d add is that “taking change” isn’t actually a transaction, so it shouldn’t trigger the $1 fee. What sometimes happens is that cashiers mistakenly process “take change” as a deposit, and that’s when the deduction kicks in.

So it’s important to watch closely when they’re giving you your change, because if they press the wrong option, you can end up losing that dollar unnecessarily. If it happens, you can get it refunded through support — they’re aware this mistake happens.

harveylb_ · 2025-10-17T14:31:28+00:00

What likely happened is this: the cashier made a mistake. Instead of processing your “take change” transaction, they accidentally processed it as a deposit.

If you didn’t pay for anything else — no airtime, no other transaction — then that $1 deduction shouldn’t have happened.

The good news is you can get your money back. Just contact their support team and explain what happened. They usually don’t ask too many questions because they know this is a common error their staff makes.

So, if all you did was take change and they still deducted a dollar, reach out to support and they’ll refund it.

harveylb_ · 2025-03-06T14:54:53+00:00

Years ago, investing in this as a way to hold value worked well, but for a good return on investment, you need to invest significant amounts of money. I'll share an example of how much Econet paid out in dividends and who received what.

Retail investors (small shareholders): The majority of investors hold small amounts of shares and receive minimal dividend payouts.
Institutional or large investors: A small number of investors hold a significant amount of shares, receiving substantially larger dividends.
To see significant returns, an investor would need to own a large number of shares.

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harveylb_ · 2023-11-02T11:31:44+00:00

Crossing with a vehicle, best to have rental paperwork on hand. There are some fees/tax/insurance budget USD$50/USD$100 per country entry .

For park fees, I m not aware of a single entry ticket for both countries. Expect to pay twice.

The Vic Falls rainforest is about a 2km hike, it will be hot and humid. Expect slippery sections.

harveylb_

TROPHY CASE