A conversation with Simbarashe ‘Simba’ Absolom Murondoti, a 2023 Mandela Washington Fellowship at the University of Notre Dame alum who returned to campus in May to participate in the IDEA Center’s McCloskey New Venture Competition.
Simba Murondoti, a senior partner at Absolom & Shepherd Attorneys, is a pivotal figure in Zimbabwe’s legal community. With expertise in corporate and commercial law and a career studded with significant achievements — including the recovery of $5.6 million in a multi-jurisdictional investment dispute and providing expert counsel on the country’s currency regulations before a European court — Simba has significantly impacted the southern African nation’s legal landscape.
And his influence transcends the legal realm.
Simba served as an invited delegate at the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum — the largest gathering of entrepreneurs and investors from across the African continent and beyond. He spoke on ways to improve various safety aspects on college campuses at the U.K.’s Wilton Park Conference, a prestigious forum for policymakers, academics, business leaders, and experts to discuss global development issues.
In 2023, following a competitive application process, Simba was selected to participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowship at the University of Notre Dame. This initiative, hosted by 28 higher-education institutions across the U.S. and sponsored by the State Department, is designed to empower young African leaders (between the ages of 25 and 35) and advance their skills to further excel in their respective sectors and communities.
At Notre Dame, Simba conceived the idea for LEXO, a name derived from Lex, the Latin word for law. This app connects clients with prepaid legal services, allowing people to pay a set amount monthly and have an attorney available when needed.
“Apart from opening doors, being on campus opened my mind,” Simba said. “I consider myself blessed because Notre Dame was the perfect place for me. The people were amazing in how much they’re willing to help, which led to me thinking about how I might apply some of the lessons of growing the good in business.”
Simba credits his Mandela Washington Fellowship at the University of Notre Dame mentor, Sam Miller, with helping him set business goals and objectives. Together, they developed a roadmap to identify and manage risk, secure employee buy-in, and execute strategy. Simba said his Notre Dame experience “made me realize that creating a tool to harness the transformative power of law could be possible.”
Meeting Oluwafunke ‘Funke’ Adeoye from Nigeria, who participated in the Washington Mandela Fellowship at the University of Georgia, affirmed this notion. Funke is an attorney from Nigeria and a 2023 Waislitz Global Citizens’ Choice Award winner, honored for representing 8,500 Indigenous People unable to afford legal representation.
(After attending programs at dozens of higher education institutions across the U.S., all 700 participants convene in Washington for the three-day Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit. Here, Fellows, government officials, and business leaders interested in forging long-term partnerships with African collaborators meet and engage with one another.)
“At the summit, someone who heard my Ignite Talk on LEXO approached me and said, ‘Oh my word! What are the odds?’ Funke is working on the same project. So, we met and decided to join forces.”
The LEXO team is rounded out by Tafara Moyo, whom Simba and Funke met this spring while participating in the University of Notre Dame IDEA Center McCloskey New Venture competition.
“McCloskey has this cool program where they match you with Notre Dame students who are interested in your work,” Simba said. “We met Tafara during the matchmaking session.” (Tafara, also from Zimbabwe, graduated from the Mendoza College of Business in May with a master’s in business analytics.)
LEXO aims to democratize access to justice by offering affordable legal services through a microinsurance model. Subscribers pay a monthly premium, guaranteeing access to representation if needed. The platform is currently pending regulatory approval in Zimbabwe.
In many African countries today, legal proceedings are plagued by delays and inefficiencies due to under-resourced systems. Additionally, high service costs significantly limit access to legal services, particularly impacting the informal sector where small-scale and self-employed businesses often operate without formal contracts — and face significant challenges when legal issues arise.
This divide creates an opportunity for ventures that raise awareness about rights and provide accessible support. Simba and his partners are poised to bridge the gap to ensure more equitable access to legal services.
Following his return to Notre Dame to participate in the McCloskey New Venture Competition — the annual event that boosts entrepreneurship and innovation, often providing funding opportunities for market-ready ideas like LEXO — the Pulte Institute spoke with Simba about his startup.
Explain why there is a need for a legal service option like LEXO.
In Zimbabwe, for instance, we've got the legal aid system that is state-funded, but it's only working for murder cases. There are also other legal aid societies that have tried to use a similar model, and they failed for two reasons: they weren’t licensed and assumed too much risk without calculating the premiums. They just dreamt up a figure, and people started paying. When it came time for people to get representation, lawyers did not want to accept it because they did not have a guarantee that they would get paid.
One of Africa’s most unsung problems is the lack of access to legal services. The continent is encouraging startups, but how do startups grow if they don't have legal representation? The only way I can think of addressing these problems is by allowing a startup to pay a small monthly premium (LEXO’s lowest-priced silver membership is expected to cost $12.90 per month) and be covered against the risk of needing crucial legal representation.
More than 70 percent of people in Zimbabwe and Nigeria cannot access basic legal services because they are exorbitantly priced. The average case costs $3,000; most people earn between $200 and $300 monthly.
In Zimbabwe, we've got a pro-Deo system. Attorneys must do a murder case on an annual basis. Never mind, if you’re a tax lawyer, you must represent this poor guy who's been accused of murder. The tax lawyer is not getting paid; he’s being forced to do it, which is way outside his ballpark. So, there's no telling the levels of carelessness with which the cases are approached.
What did you learn from participating in the McCloskey New Venture Competition?
I learned a lot about raising finance. I also learned humility because there were many incredible businesses. We were taken aback at the level of innovation going on at Notre Dame. Specifically, for Lexo, we made a lot of crucial connections, especially in the venture capital space, some of whom were still in discussions.
I also got incredible mentorship from the judges. They got me thinking about applying this idea beyond Zimbabwe and Nigeria, which we initially targeted. One judge approached me and said, “You know, you've got something here that could be useful for the immigrant populations in the United States.” So, those kinds of insights. It was a week of getting information and inspiration.
Is the LEXO app up and running? Would someone be able to sign up today?
No, it is pending approval. We are not permitted to do the insurance business before we get regulatory approval. Once we get that, as far as the Zimbabwean market is concerned, we'll be ready to offer the service.
LEXO is built on a microinsurance model. We aim to help the poorest of the poor, low-income households, and people who get into trouble with the law and cannot afford legal services.
Eventually, we want the market to see that we are not doing this out of any ulterior motive. We are doing this to solve a legitimate problem with premiums commensurate with an attorney’s basic hourly charge. We are intentionally targeting the lowest premiums possible because we know that money is an issue.
I think that should be enough, at least in the early stages of our relationship with customers, to demonstrate that we're not here to solve their problems. Their problems will be solved in a manner that's profitable for us. We would be disingenuous if we didn't admit that this venture strives to be profitable. If we get into a case that requires representation beyond what we have figured, we will allow clients to supplement their premiums with a substantial payment.
LEXO is insurance. The more people we have, the better we can manage the risk of them encountering legal issues.
Originally published by at pulte.nd.edu on July 10, 2024.