01 Jun 2014

When 33-year-old Ms Connie Chaune of Rakops in the Central District started work as a shop assistant at a local internet café owned by Vcali Holdings, her dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur was reinforced.

Ms Chaune knew that, with her certificate in office skills she had gained from Tutume Mc Connell Brigade in 2004, and the work experience she was gaining at her work place, the hope of running her own Internet café was not a far-fetched after all.

“My earnings were so little I could hardly pay for my rent and buy food and there was virtually nothing to save for future use,” she said in an interview.

However, the challenges only served to propel her to seek other means of earning additional income and in the end she bought a digital camera and a laptop which she used to do work for people for a price.

During her spare time, she would move around the village taking photos of anyone who cared, including using her laptop to type some documents for individuals and companies. “This worked for me because I made more money, especially during weddings and social parties and I managed to save some money for future use,” she said. 

In 2006, Ms Chaune was convinced that, with the skills she had learnt from the brigade school, and the work experience she had gained from Vcali Holdings, she was now ready to start her own Internet café.

And, consequently, she set up a company called Conmoo Investment, which started with limited services because she was financing the whole operation from her savings. “I decided to lay a foundation so that when I asked for financial assistance, it would not be too much asking,” she said. 

The entrepreneur admitted that, although the lack of proper equipment and funds affected her business negatively, she never gave up.

She said success in life did not come easy but through hard work and determination; she critised people, particularly the youth for their tendency to wait to be spoon-fed instead of being productive so they could be able to eradicate poverty out of their lives. .

She subsequently applied for a Youth Development Fund (YDF) and was assisted through a P47 000 funding by the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture. Ms Chaune said she used the funds to get connected to the Internet, purchase three computers, a photo copying machine, a printer, fax machine, binder and she used other funds to furnish her rented office space.

Conmoo Investments does not only provide secretarial services such as faxing, typing, and photocopying, but it has also created employment for two young people in the village.

Like in any other business, Ms Chaune admitted that there were challenges as her business was not exceptional. “Some customers are bad payers after work has been done for them and this behavior forces me to withdraw money from my personal savings to meet the short falls created,” she said. 

Nevertheless, she said, through advertising her business, she had managed to gain more customers to boost her customer base and she was able to pay all the business expenses. Ms Chaune also indicated that she was worried about the small office space from which she operates. 

“I am particularly worried about the fact that customers have to wait outside to be served due to the small space and I plan to look for a convenient place with more space,” she said.

She was grateful for the YDF help as she now has a certificate in Business Management, which she acquired through the help of the department of Youth. 

Her intentions are to grow her business and she intends to open another internet café in Masunga in the near future. Ends