LIMBO COMMERCIALISES FAMILY AGRIC BUSINESS
Agriculture has since time immemorial been practised by every household in all corners of the country but albeit at a subsistence level. It was a hand-to-month undertaking with no modern inputs to improve output. For one local entrepreneur, Bwaambo Limbo, there is an opportunity to commercialise what her family has been doing over the years after identifying a niche in way of doing things.
Narrating the journey to BusinessMonitor, Limbo said during the harvest seasons her parents and other communal farmers in the village would travel long distances to get their grains processed. She also recalled how they used the olden ways of pounding, which is tedious, unproductive and too much strength is needed.
In 2012, after brainstorming ideas to bridge the gap, she then approached the Ministry of Youth Empowerment,
Sports and Culture Development under the Youth
Development Fund programe who funded her acquisition of a milling machinery.
This gave birth to the company, Kulyera Investments, which manufactures sorghum, millet, wheat meal and also packages sugar beans and other pulses. In addition, it offers milling services where customers bring their own grains for milling, or beans and other pulses for packaging.
“We had been open for a day when our first client came for a milling service to grind her sorghum grains. The experience was a bit overwhelming as it was now really sinking in that a journey that I had been working on paper, and visualising was coming to life,” she explained.
Based at Pandamatenga in the Chobe District, Limbo said the quality of their products gives them a competitive edge over their competitors.
“One thing that distinguishes our product from the rest is we use first grade grains which play a vital role in the end product, the look of the product and taste,” she said.
Kulyera Investments’ clientele include Tsetseng Retail Group t/a SPAR, which were the first bulk-buying clients.
Like many businesses, Limbo said they have been affected by COVID-19 pandemic as their sales have drastically gone down.
“Our biggest market has been in Maun where we all know is a tourism hub and the locals are employed in the tourism sector. When less people buy, that means the orders from the shops lessen as well,” she said.
Limbo bemoaned that their seven-year old machinery affect production as they constantly deal with breakdowns. She said they do not have a delivery truck which forces them to outsource for deliveries outside Chobe.
However, Limbo is optimistic about the future noting that they hope to expand as their market base has expanded over the years. Currently, Kulyera employs four people on permanent basis, and have three more who are usually engaged on temporary basis. Local Enterprise Authority has been instrumental in offering advisory, training, linkages to markets and retail sector as well as mentoring.