30 Oct 2014

In 2009, after having been in the get-dirty-business of farming and repairing vehicles for some time, 34-year-old Mr Tshwaragano Pule made a radical turn about as he started a milling business.

For Mr Pule of Gumare, going into the agricultural business seemed the right thing to do despite the fact that he is a professional auto mechanic.“I made a thorough research before I could begin to write any business proposals to any financing department,” he explained in an interview with BOPA, adding that his research uncovered a lot of opportunities in agriculture in the district. 

The budding entrepreneur said he discovered that there were not enough milling businesses in the Okavango district; hence he decided to take the opportunity. Mr Pule had heard about the Youth Development Fund (YDF) in 2013, and, without thinking twice, he threw in his business proposal just like fellow youths.

He said he was guided by very helpful youth officers in Gumare and it was not too long after he had submitted his proposal that he got a call from YDF, unfortunately announcing that his proposal had been rejected.

“It was a business well thought of and researched on, so I could not understand what the problem could have been,” Mr Pule said, adding that he was not going to give up, even after learning that there was not enough produce in the area to sustain his anticipated milling business.

After a concerted struggle such as getting the right information and several appeals to higher authorities, the young man said he was ultimately considered for a P100 000 funding. 

Although Pule said he started to buy machinery last year, he was not able to start operating because he had not infrastructure to operate from.  However, in the end things fell into place as his business was officially opened in August 2014.

Most interestingly, he said, for now he has only one competitor whom he found already in operation in the milling business.  He noted that many of his customers do not have transport so he has put in a strategy of fetching the produce from them and taking it back after milling.

For now, he has employed two youths, and as a professional mechanic, Mr Pule said he services his own machinery. He is currently drafting a business plan to open an abattoir to work with farmers in the district and the residues from milling will be used to feed the cattle in his farm. 

He advised other youths that the government has opened its hands and it is left to the youth to take advantage of these opportunities, adding that they should always do a market research because it is very vital in business proposals.

The ambitious young man said it would have been of good help for him if he could also attend the national trade fair, where he could learn from other business people. ENDS