A Thriving Career & A Dream Business
Thinking about how we rarely have unique, long lasting bags meaning bags that would see a year and still be in great condition, Collins went around some of the streets in Dar es Salaam asking if people would like his bags and most said no because why not use the regular bags and that is where he got his answer that his product would actually sell because it’s unique.
As he graduated in 2019 he never thought he would consider business because he has never had that in him, not sure if being in business requires a skill or talent but if you get into it you will need to work it out. With no capital at all Collins was still aiming for a successful business that had been on his mind for a while, he did not know how it was going to turn out but the goal was to start. Raising money for his capital was one of his biggest challenges while looking for the market comes right after even after finding out his product would sell. He started with selling other items other than bags to raise capital while at it he researched on the business in terms of market and learned that people need bags for different uses so took that with him to have bags for every use.
Prior to this, Collins was expecting a lot more from the career side until he realised he needed to pause and evaluate his after school journey because as a graduate you need to find a way to kill some of the “I’m a graduate” expectations. His brother mentored him in his transition to being in business;
As a graduate you need to find a way to kill some of the “I’m a graduate” expectations.
In his experience the business has picked up so well with customers inside and outside Tanzania, his customers are always ready but it’s up to him to expand and cater to them. While it’s exciting to see him succeed in his career as an accountant which he is really passionate about and that is the reason he decided to pursue it all together with his business. Collins is still putting together his finances to give his customers more. He has achieved a number of things one of the biggest being customer satisfaction which keeps him moving.
A Hive Of Shared Talent
You would probably want to buy everything once you set your eyes on Mzinga Creek Pottery & Ceramics Shop, every item is beautiful and you can tell it was made with effort and passion to give you beautiful home ware. Mary Siwingwa also known to us as Mama Mzinga as we love to call her is an artist and a teacher who is passionate about her craft and artistic skills and loves to share them with others by teaching. Speaking of artist, Mama mzinga has made beautiful paintings and still does but her current and main focus is on pottery and ceramics. Mzinga creek pottery was registered in 2004 and has been in business ever since, the name comes from the location of the pottery as it is in Mzinga area on a creek overlooking the mzinga river and the mangrove trees.
Being a woman who took an initiative to put up a pottery, teaching the youth and creating opportunities for them, Kiafrika was curious to find out on how she went about it to sustain it to this day where she disclosed a number of challenges and setbacks over the years but she has managed to keep it going to this day. Training others to create stunning ceramic and pottery pieces is proof that she enjoys sharing her skills with others. We asked her about her proficiency in pottery and ceramic skills which she admitted to have learnt most of it here in Tanzania as much as she has been in different places around the world where she participated in classes and art sessions to polish her skills.
Training others on how to create stunning ceramic and pottery pieces is proof that Mary Sewingwa (aka. Mama Mzinga) enjoys sharing her skills with others.
Mama Mzinga offers classes every Saturday at a fee where she shares her knowledge on pottery and ceramics. You get to learn and enjoy making beautiful items with her and other learners as you get to leave with your item. She encourages more Tanzanians to participate and be more engaged in art because most of her supporters are non-Tanzanians. At Kiafrika we love Mama Mzinga and her products and we encourage all of you to support her.
The Bright Side Of The Dim Lights
Romode was just a vision prior to what it is now.
Rosemary knew she wanted to make candles as a business and her source of income after she had briefly learnt how to do it back in her second year of university. She knew exactly how she wanted the business to turn out but she wasn’t set to begin her journey yet so preceded with her employment as she worked on putting her dream job together. With a very random image of a candle from the internet as her profile picture, her then colleague saw it and placed an order. Rosemary went ahead to get all the particulars needed to make candles and did her very first batch for her first client, that was the very first sale which was 3 candles sold for 25,000 TZS that pushed Rosemary to give us what is Romode Candles today.
Growing up Rose suffered severe malaria often so she was determined to make mosquito repellent in form of candles as well as mosquito repellent jelly which in the long run she managed and it is in the market. Her products are easily accessible in supermarkets and also via kiafrika.shop where she has made a number of sales. At one point, Romode managed to make a sale of 100 candles from one bulk order via Kiafrika platform.
"Kiafrika platform has helped us connect to markets that I would not be able to access on a regular day as most of my customers used to come from recommendations." - Rosemary, Founder of Romode Candles
Rosemary has always preferred dim lights and that is another reason for her love for candles while the urge to learn how to make them in many ways is what got her brand here today. After the first sale which was an eye opening moment of believing in making candles for money, she started putting in extra effort to learn more as she produced more candles with the knowledge she had.
With support from friends and family who assisted with promoting her business, she eventually bought a machine and made labels for her products. Few months after she started working on the candles and building her brand, Rosemary attended an exhibition in Lindi where her products won as best and was invited for more exhibitions in Zanzibar and other parts of Tanzania and that’s how Romode candles picked up in the beginning.
Every small purchase makes a big difference.
Baba Oreste Centre – Fashion Show 25 March
Baba Oreste is a centre for children with special needs who come from underprivileged homes. The centre started in 2008 and is located in Bunju A where the aim was to support parents, especially single parents by taking care of the children through teaching so that the parents are able to go for their daily jobs leaving the children in good hands.
For nearly 15 years with a current total number of 53 children, Baba Oreste’s centre has been a centre that supports the children of all ages, some are over 18 now and still need the centre’s support. The centre has organised a fashion show for children with down syndrome to raise awareness and to commemorate the world down syndrome day.
The fashion show will take place on the 25th March, 2023. On this show the centre intends to raise funds in order to help more children with disabilities together with their families. Thereafter, sell items that are made by the parents children as well as other fundraising activities.
On World Down Syndrome Day 2023, we call for people and organisations around the world to be…With Us Not For Us.
A human rights-based approach views people with disabilities as having the right to be treated fairly and have the same opportunities as everyone else, working With others to improve their lives.
The children’s parents items and other accessories for sale are made available for an extra income to support their families. You can shop the items at the centre in Bunju A as well as the kiafrika online shop as a way to support the centre’s initiative
A Coconut In a Success Story
Three years as an entrepreneur, Deogratius Kapalata is doing very well as a virgin coconut oil producer. The transition from being a coconut supplier to mama ntilies (local cooks) and neighbours for their daily use to purchasing up to 300 coconuts straight from farmers for producing 80 t0 100 litres of coconut oil a month has been extremely challenging yet very fulfilling;
I mean who would have thought a Master’s degree holder straight from Tokyo University would pick a coconut business over an office job, either way Deo has mastered this business and succeeded in so many ways.
While KP is a brand popularly known for its coconut oil, they have two other products and the aim is to expand making products for different uses that people will consume on a daily basis. With the help of his brother they have created a name for themselves by making quality and affordable virgin coconut oil and what they have accomplished throughout their journey is very evident.
“We are still growing as a brand and there is so much to improve but being able to cover 90% of our production using our current machines to putting up an office and employ people is such a big win for us.” - Deogratius Kapalata, KPLT Traders Founder and CEO
Along their entrepreneurial journey that includes losing customers due to the quality of their coconut oil, KP coconut oil has improved while giving affordable prices to its customers in such a way that their customer base has spread so wide in different places as they have agents in 12 regions in Tanzania . Most of the people purchased KP coconut oil through referrals but reached a wider market through online shops such as Kiafrika where they have received orders and made sales countless times through the website and given KP recognition.