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KEETMANSHOOP – After investing over N $ 100,000 in her mailer sales business, Maria Katjito now wants to branch out into a full-fledged convenience store for residents of Iileni, an informal neighborhood in Keetmanshoop.
She was one of the participants to present her business proposal during a StartUp Namibia project launched in the city.
“After quitting my job and paying off my mortgage deposit, I decided to invest the rest of my exit benefits, getting into entrepreneurship,†she noted.
Katjito said that after seeing the need to provide essential services, apart from basic household consumables like bread and milk, and also the fact that there is no convenience store in the area yet, she now plans, with funding, to start such a project. .
“I have already started providing services from prepaid providers such as water, electricity, DStv and MTC, but now I want to expand into other products such as speed dial banking as well as creation franchises like Lucky Seven or Multisave, â€she said enthusiastically.
The entrepreneur added that after realizing that residents of Iileni need to travel to town to access fresh produce like meat, chicken, fish, fruits and vegetables, she now plans to also provide such consumables.
“I have also carried out an impact study in the last few months in business and have concluded that there is effective purchasing power within the community, which motivates me to develop my business accordingly” , she stressed.
The owner of the company further explained to the panel of judges determining the qualification of a funding participant that she, as a former head of human resources and having also taken a course in cost accounting, would not have big challenges in terms of marketing and budgeting.
“I will be able to more easily persuade my target market to buy into my business idea through persuasion, social media, advertisements and flyers while staying within my budget but also making a profit. She explained.
Katjito said in her expense breakdown that she would need an estimated N $ 120,000 for wages, inventory, vending machines, point-of-sale machines and freezing equipment.
“I have also invested in the fast food and fast food sector, and I want to continue to expand it by selling other consumer products than ‘slap chips’ and vetkoek,†he said. she adds.
Katjito said that with good planning, she can have an annual turnover of N 360,000.
As she is currently renting a building in the informal neighborhood, it is also her dream to acquire land and build her own store in the future. If my business becomes profitable and can grow, I intend to employ six people, â€she observed.
According to Anastacia Ray of Impact Tank, which implements the MatchMe2Funding initiative, the project is an intervention and a response to the funding challenges facing startups in the country.
Ray said the initiative is implemented by Impact Tank in partnership with StartUp Namibia, and financially supported by GIZ, with Nedbank as the exclusive banking partner.
She added that they firmly believe that startups contribute to economic growth by stimulating innovation and creating a competitive business environment, as well as by stimulating job creation and having a positive impact on overall economic productivity. .
The program will engage and train 200 startups in 10 selected cities from five geographic areas. Participants should have an innovative business concept and ideas for their startup.
– sklukowski@nepc.com.na
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